


Convergence

by DiaMori, Okadiah



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Angst, Could probably read this without having played all the games and still have a good time, Enemies to Friends, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Family, Friendship, It's just a lot of fun, Link-Verse AU, M/M, POV Multiple, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Rehydrated Ganondorf - Freeform, SEVEN LINKS, Saving the Multiverse, The Drama, This story is wild you all, Trauma, With some serious plot, one world, paradoxes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-03
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:53:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 27
Words: 144,585
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27359080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DiaMori/pseuds/DiaMori, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Okadiah/pseuds/Okadiah
Summary: After the defeat of Calamity Ganon reawakens the full power of Ganondorf, Link and Zelda are forced to take desperate measures. Only they hadn't expected their final play to summon not one, not two, but six different Links from across time and space, and some are not as happy to be there as others. But like it or not, they're going to need every single one of them if they hope to at last defeat the ancient Gerudo King.So long as these foreign Links are there to help, of course.
Relationships: Link (Skyward Sword)/Zelda (Skyward Sword), Link (Twilight Princess) & Young Link (Majora's Mask), Link (Twilight Princess)/Midna, The Hero's Spirit | Hero of Time | Golden Wolf & Link (Twilight Princess), The Hero's Spirit | Hero of Time | Golden Wolf/Ganondorf (Breath of the Wild)
Comments: 88
Kudos: 138





	1. Defeat

**Author's Note:**

> Hello my friends! I'm very excited to start sharing this crazy fic. I'd originally started it just for fun, but then it evolved and I fell in love with it and, well, I just had to write and share it.
> 
> So you read the tags right, there will be seven Links from across the games involved in the story. That being said I did my best to be as accurate and faithful to each and every Link and give them characterizations that are in line with the lore/story in every game, but I fully admit that while I'm really close in a lot of areas I knowingly fudge a few of the details. Let's say that these Links and their worlds are *super* close to the original games, and any differing details can be attributed to *multiverse*. Feel free to ask me questions and I will do my best to respond to them.
> 
> Also I write as both DiaMori and Okadiah (both are my accounts). It's possible that at some point much later in the story I will remove the DiaMori account from the story, so be sure to subscribe to the story itself if you're interested in updates. I just didn't want to ostracize any readers who follow either account who might be interested in the story. I plan to update on Mondays and Thursdays.
> 
> Anyway, let's break some ground. I hope you enjoy the opening!

It had happened. It had _finally_ happened. Link's hands shook from where they were clenched around the Master Sword as he stared at the massive, still body before him. He couldn't believe it. He _couldn't_.

But there, clear as day, lay the remains of Calamity Ganon.

Smoke rose from the grasses caught in the crossfire, craters dotted the earth, the princess still glowed with impossible power, and all the while Link’s heart would not stop racing. For over a hundred years they'd all awaited this moment and it had _happened_. It was real. They'd _won_.

A brilliant grin spread across his face as tears ran in streams from his eyes. It was all he could do to remain upright because it was _over_. It was really, truly over.

The white figure of Princess Zelda was radiant as she returned his smile, tears of her own glittering on her lashes. Suddenly she was running to him, arms wrapping around him as she screamed in triumph.

"We did it, Link! We finally did it!"

He could barely utter anything through the tight fist of his throat that refused to let up, and all he could do was sob as he returned the desperate embrace, weapon falling from his hands. It was over, all the pain and suffering for the both of them was _over_. After a hundred years, this was a dream. It had to be.

But it was real.

Happiness, unbridled happiness unlike _anything_ Link had ever experienced before surged through his body, and with a shout he lifted the princess and swung her around and around. They'd done it. They'd _done it_.

They stared at each other, smiling and just … knew. It was finally over.

Until it wasn’t.

Their triumph and elation crashed around them as the sound of a deep, dark chuckle slowly filled the air. All around the insects went silent. The birds stopped chirping. Even the wind died until all Link could hear was that horrible, amused chuckle, and the tight gasp from the princess as she froze against him.

The sun set on the horizon. The world turned black. The corpse of Calamity Ganon twitched.

A pair of golden eyes opened and power unlike anything Link had ever experienced before hammered into him. He reacted instinctively, throwing the princess behind him as he reached for the Master Sword, happiness gone like it had never been there at all. It didn't matter that his body trembled at the thought of fighting even one more time, or that his heart shook. He focused past all of it. He _had_ to.

Horror filled his blood as he saw a figure immerge from the corpse of the great beast. They stood in the darkness, growing more real as the moon, tinged a foreboding blood-red, rose.

"No," Link breathed, his heart turning to ice as he watched the sky bleed red, the Blood Moon rising. "No, it can't be. This can’t be happening."

"It is," a deep, soul-wrenching voice said pleasantly. Smugly. "And it would never have happened without both of your earnest efforts."

"No," Princess Zelda said, her voice shattering at the end. "No! We defeated you! It's not possible—!"

The figure, massive, menacing, beautiful and horrifying stepped out of the shadowed remains of Calamity Ganon, skin glowing red in what was by now a clear sign of revival. It was a Gerudo, an impossible hulking male Gerudo, but Link couldn't mistake the build, the skin-tone, the fire-bright red blaze of hair that flowed and curled down his muscled back. Gold glittered in glorious ornamentation about his body, brilliant bolts of fabric in vibrant Gerudo colors hung about his hips, highlighting his strength.

Link wished he didn’t know who this was, but the stories of his childhood were still burned in his mind as he knew they were in the princess’s. Impa had told the stories to them both, to make them understand who their foe was. Who had summoned Calamity Ganon.

Ganondorf.

"Don't appear so shocked," Ganondorf said with a smirk, the look both handsome and cruel. The third Triforce wielder prowled forward like a lion despite his bulk. "You're nothing more than children playing at a game I mastered long ago, following every clue I left for you to find. How could you have known that beating my Calamity form would ultimately release me?” The look he gave them was indulgent. “You were both magnificent."

"You're lying," Princess Zelda snarled, hands clenching at her sides, but Link saw the way they bleached white. Saw how it seemed like it was all she could do to stand her ground against their mutual nightmare. "The power of the goddess—!"

"Revived me," he replied calmly, still smirking. "Now, why might that be?"

Link didn't have an answer. An answer right now wasn't even remotely on his list of priorities. Getting them away, getting the _princess_ as far from this monster as he could, keeping her _alive_ , that was all that mattered.

He whistled, loud and hard, and he was grateful when his mare came at a gallop, hoofs furious and punishing on the earth. Link wrapped an arm around Princess Zelda, sheathed the Master Sword and vaulted them up onto the horse's back. Snatching up the reigns, he shouted, "Ya!"

They were going as fast as the wind, but it didn't feel like escape when horrible golden eyes felt like weights on him, weights he could never hope to outrun. Everything had changed so quickly, it was impossible. They'd won. All of their hard work had finally born fruit.

Just not the fruit they'd meant, and the new world that had been birthed filled his heart with fear.

"Run then," Ganondorf said, and it didn't matter how fast Link urged his horse, how much distance they put between themselves and Ganondorf, the sound of the Gerudo's voice seemed to linger in his ears above the scream of the wind. "I've waited this long, it's no matter to wait longer. If there's one thing I've learned after millennia, it's patience. You'll return. The Triforce will be mine, in time. Until then."

The Blood Moon brightened and Princess Zelda's hold on his middle tightened so hard he was certain his ribs would break. She gasped. "Faster! Link, go faster!"

He didn't need the encouragement. He was already snapping the reins, urging the horse as fast as she could go. Good mare that she was, she was already frothing after the brutal battle with the Calamity. Her eyes were panicked and white with terror, and the survival instinct he'd had to hone so sharply out in the wild was screaming. They needed to leave _now_.

A moment later it was clear why.

He'd anticipated the revival of all the monsters he'd killed since the last Blood Moon, but this time, to his horror, more than just monsters rose. The ground cracked and skeletal hands rose from the soil, sunken, decomposed, still wearing what vestiges of armor and weaponry they'd had before they'd fallen in battle. They were of all types. Hylian, Goron, Zora, Rito, Gerudo, but nothing was clearer than the fact that they were dead.

Stalfos. Not just monster stalfos but those of allies from long ago. Those who'd sacrificed themselves for the future that he and the princess had worked so hard to bring to fruition.

And had failed.

"The plateau," Princess Zelda cried out, her voice tight and afraid. "Link, the plateau! We must get to the plateau."

Link didn't think. He only moved, following orders as he'd been trained to do, and all the while he dodged the bodies of the dead. Nausea sat at the pit of his stomach, oily and persistent. He didn’t want to fight them. These had once been loyal men and women, people who'd died for the good of Hyrule only to be used now to destroy what remained. And despite that he pulled the Master Sword from its scabbard. He broke through those nearest and in the way. What else was there to do but blaspheme against the fallen when all that was left was for him to save Princess Zelda?

If sinning against the dead would save her life after he'd spent so much time trying to save her, then sin he would.

It took what felt like hours, but they made it to the Great Plateau, and although it pained him bitterly, he dismounted his mare and urged her to leave and find the strength to go just once more, if only to save herself. But all she could do was collapse to the ground, tired and weak, unable to move one more step.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered into her ear, grieving before he and the princess faced the plateau. To his surprise ropes stretched down toward them, the only passage to safety available.

"Hurry!" a voice called down, a Sheikah man appearing up above and waving at them violently. The wind whipped at them, and in the air he saw a familiar white Rito flying, bow in hand.

"Quickly, Link! There's not much time. I can see the hoard."

"You first, Princess," Link said before wrapping the rope around her middle and letting her half-climb and half be pulled upward. Behind him he could hear the sound of skeletal feet racing across the dirt. A glance chilled him. A hoard truly was behind him, and there on the horizon, outlined by the Blood Moon, were the ruins of Hyrule Castle.

He thought he could make out a figure right at the top, golden-eyed and staring across the distance right at them.

"Link!" Zelda screamed, but Link was already moving. The Sheikah Slate was in his hand, his finger on an icon, and one moment he was in danger with swords and arrows arching his way. The next the wind caressed his cheeks gently, a balm high above the world as he stood alone at the crest of the Great Plateau's tower.

So high up, he couldn't see much, though he saw enough. The white figure below was pulled onto the plateau, surrounded by Sheikah who were quickly herding her away. Teba was circling the skies and for once Link was grateful he did not possess the Rito's incredible sight. From here he thought he saw the forms of Zora, and more Rito, of Goron and Gerudo and who knew who else all converging to gather here in safety. He could almost believe what had happened was a nightmare from up here. This high up he couldn't even see the stalfos and bokoblins and moblins he knew were just waiting for them at the base of the plateau.

But the sky was still dark and blood red. The light of the Divine Beasts had faded to nothing. In the distance he imagined he could hear all the kingdoms of Hyrule screaming.

Link stumbled back, his legs abruptly giving out. He collapsed against the tower's terminal and vomited until he couldn't anymore. Weak, he slumped to the floor and wrapped his arms around his knees, buried his head and wept where no one could see him or the true defeat of the Hero of Courage.


	2. Solution

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! The previous chapter was definitely more of a prologue, but this one is where we really start digging in.
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

Link leaned forward, resting his chin against his clasped fingers as he listened to Teba's report.

"It's the same everywhere," the Rito commander said, tone direct and leaving no room for doubt. "All of the Fairy Fountains have been overwhelmed by Ganondorf's power, as have the Divine Beasts. The disasters of before have returned with twice the destruction. The Zora's Domain and the lower wetlands will be swept away by the flood once the reservoir breaks. The Gerudo Desert is a sandstorm my scouts nor the Gerudo warriors can cross. Death Mountain’s eruption is emanant, and," this was where Teba’s careful tone slipped ever so slightly. Link forced himself to witness his friend's pain. "And Vah Medoh traps my people. They are running out of supplies. It has been days since anyone has been able to escape, and I've sent messages telling them not to. Not when they are struck down from the sky if they are not fast enough."

Link's hands clenched tight enough to make the leather of his gloves creak. It was loud within the makeshift battle tent they'd erected within what had once been the remains of the Temple of Time. Princess Zelda stood over a table with an elaborate map of the kingdoms of Hyrule displayed. Red markers dotted it with all the locations where Ganondorf's forces had taken over and grown stronger. There were only a handful of blue markers now, pockets of resistance fighting valiantly to maintain their fronts, but day by day more of those markers were exchanged with red.

They were losing worse than they ever had before they'd fought the Calamity. Link couldn’t help but think it was somehow his fault.

"Thank you, Teba," the princess said quietly, her eyes as troubled as ever. It was a familiar look. Link couldn't remember the last time she'd smiled. "Does anyone else have anything to add to the report?"

"Yes," Prince Sidon said solemnly. "Supply runs are becoming more difficult. The rivers and lakes my people use to get here are becoming infested with lizalfos. We're fighting them off, but the problem is worse than losing a cache of supplies. The fish ... it is difficult to find them these days."

"Our hunters are also having a difficult time," a Sheikah said. "We have enough supplies to last the month, perhaps two if we further ration, but the reality is that sooner or later we will run out."

"And there's only so much we can do with the Great Plateau," Princess Zelda breathed. "And it's past season to begin farming."

"There's also a problem with the youth," a Hylian commander added. "They're growing restless and I am frequently told they want to fight. They want to do something to help the cause, and they’re disrupting training sessions."

"The best thing they can do to help is to stay out of trouble,” the princess said firmly. “We must make them understand."

The Hylian Commander's eyes sidled Link's way. "While they are young, they are also full of spirit. They _could_ begin training, perhaps."

Link didn't meet the commander's eyes, and although he felt Zelda's drift his way all she said was, "That is a discussion for another time. For now, encourage them to scavenge what they can, and reiterate that they _must_ stay away from the cliff walls. There are Guardians below now. They are only waiting for the opportunity."

The meeting ended, the various leaders of the resistance filing out and Link ignored them all. His hands were still clenched, his heart ached, and more than anything he wanted to venture off the Great Plateau and fight the monster which had caused so much destruction. But he wouldn't. Princess Zelda had been clear on that point. He could not and would not risk his life like that. Not until they had a plan.

They hadn't had one for months, and they were running out of time.

Soon it was just the two of them, the knight and his princess. Alone like this Zelda let herself collapse into her chair, dropping her head into her palms.

"It is worse than I had thought," she muttered, gaze skating across the map with its waves of red and dots of blue. "Link, what are we going to do?"

_Die_ , was all he could think, but he didn't voice it. He didn't say anything. He hadn't said a word since Ganondorf's return. After all, what was there to say from a failure like him? Nothing he'd done had mattered in the end. It followed that nothing he said now would carry any wisdom or meaning as well.

Zelda didn't appear bothered by his refusal to speak and a small part of him felt bad that she was so used to it by now. That his silence and self-chastisement was normal. Instead she sighed, listless, running a hand through her shortened hair before pressing her fingers into her eyes. Then she surged to her feet.

"Come on. I cannot stay here another moment."

He did as he was told, rising to his feet and moving to her side. His hand rested on his pommel and it didn't matter to him that they were as safe as they could be upon the plateau. He didn't trust their tentative safety, and if there was one thing he wasn't going to let happen, it was the death of their last hope. Without Princess Zelda and her wisdom, her strength, they were all doomed.

They moved from the ruins of the Temple of Time along the stairs to the main path, beaten into clarity from the many feet which had tread upon it in recent months. Guards moved past them along with a mix of tired people from all the kingdoms who moved in groups, bowing to them as they passed. Usually Zelda liked to move downward toward the makeshift town to see the people and keep up their spirits, or toward the soldiers’ barracks to watch the warriors train in the various styles found across Hyrule. The Zora dotted the water. The Rito sat in trees. The few Goron of their number worked diligently in newly excavated quarries and in hastily made smithies. Hylian, Sheikah, and Gerudo each took turns guarding the cliff wall. Everyone who could take part did what they could to do their part.

And still it wasn't enough.

This time however they moved away from the people, upward toward the revival chamber and the view of Hyrule Link had awoken to so long ago. She only went this way when she was deeply troubled and needed to get away from the noise of life. To find the quiet of her thoughts.

He didn't know how she could stand them when his own were the cruelest monsters he endured.

The higher they climbed, however, the less he thought the princess would get the solitude she craved. There was already someone waiting for them there, a small, diminutive figure who demanded and deserved all the respect of her years. For the first time in weeks, Zelda's eyes brightened.

"Impa! You’re back!"

The old Sheikah woman smiled kindly at Zelda before nodding to Link in turn.

"Only just. I'm so sorry it's taken me so long to arrive. The travel was not easy."

"You must sit, please," Princess Zelda said, gesturing to a nearby stump they often used when they were up here to think. "You should not be traveling at all."

"It was important, and never judge the old. We are not nearly as incapable as you would believe."

"I have never believed you incapable of anything," Zelda said fondly.

The old woman’s small smile wavered.

"Alas, I'm incapable of bringing with me good tidings. I wish what I have to say could wait. But it can't."

If Link listened hard enough, he was certain he could hear the sound of Zelda's heart cracking even more. But as always she only straightened and prepared herself to shoulder more weight and responsibility.

"What news do you have?"

"Unfortunately it's worse than we feared," Impa replied, shaking her head. "Only one runner was able to return, and what she told me ... the Korok Forest, the Great Deku Tree, the entire area is impenetrable and shrouded in darkness. There is a hollow there, have no doubt. It is yet another place we must free, perhaps the most important of all if we are to recharge the Master Sword and break the hold Ganondorf has over this land enough that Link at least has the ability to use the slate to travel once again."

Link frowned as his limitations were once more acknowledged. Since Ganondorf had truly returned, the press of his dark power as it had rapidly spread across Hyrule had disabled the Master Sword’s abilities and dispelled the Sheikah Slate’s teleportation function. For months he’d been locked here, unable to answer the desperate pleas of the people of Hyrule, staring at blackened icons on a screen that refused to take him where he needed to go.

"Everything ... how could it all get so much worse like this?" Zelda breathed, shoulders slumping. "Impa, I do not know what to do. We have tried everything. It was all we could do to take back one Fairy Fountain. But three more, the four Divine Beasts, and the Korok Forest? We do not have the manpower. The supplies. We do not have the _time_."

And there it was. The truth. It had been there hanging between the both of them as nothing more than thought-forms, but Zelda had said it and made it real. They would not survive much longer. The demand on them was too great.

Ganondorf would, after so long, win.

The quiet sounds of the forest, natural and calming, were at odds with the reality about to descend upon them. Link wanted to scream.

To his surprise, Impa looked at them both and said something he'd prayed for since Ganondorf's return.

"There might yet be a way," Impa said, "But if we succeeded, we would have all the help we would need."

"What are you talking about?" Zelda asked immediately as if she’d just been thrown an impossible lifeline. "If there was a way, why have you waited until now?"

For the first time Impa frowned and looked away, and Link sensed what she would say before the old woman had voiced her concern. He forced himself to speak for the first time in months. There was only one reason why the Sheikah wouldn't have brought it up. She was too old. Too wise. Too careful. But they were at the end of the rope. When all feasible options were exhausted, they were left with whatever was left, no matter how extreme.

"What's the cost?"

The princess stared at him, surprised, but Impa was unmoved. The old woman didn't respond at once, but when she did her words came out in a steady cadence. "It's hard to say the exact cost. But should we do this, the princess will not be able to help you win this war, Link. Her magic will be required to cast the spell, and should it break all hope _will_ be lost. It will be a fight for Farore's Chosen. That is all I know."

"But ... that does not make any sense," Zelda said. "I must be a part of the battle. That is what all the legends say."

"Indeed, it is," Impa agreed. "But doing this ... it breaks the rules, in a sense. It changes things, and it is only the Goddess’s Chosen who can make this decision. Casting this spell could be everything we need to tip the balance in our favor. But for every boon, there is a bane."

Princess Zelda’s lips pressed thin.

"What does Ganondorf gain, if I cast this spell?"

Impa's lips mirrored Zelda’s. "I don't know."

Zelda frowned before glancing at Link. "What do you think?"

"I don't think you should ask me, Princess," Link responded, his voice gritty from so long abstaining from speech. "Twice I've failed you."

"You have not failed me, Link."

"Then I've failed Hyrule," he amended, perhaps more harshly than he'd intended, but he wasn't going to mince words. "I see the way everyone looks at me, even if you don't. I don't know what I could possibly do to save Hyrule now, spell or not."

"Then what is there to lose?" she said, her voice heating. "We have run out of options. There is nothing else left, and as I said before, we are running out of time before Ganondorf claims all of Hyrule for himself, the Triforce with it. Once more, Link, that is all I want from you.” Her eyes flashed with unyielding will and painful desperation. “One more time."

"To fail?" The words swept out of his mouth, bitter and cold and he refused to take them back. This was the weight of his guilt. It was time he acknowledged it as well. Zelda's blue eyes hardened.

"Perhaps,” she said quietly. “But it might be the final opportunity we can give you to succeed. Are you going to throw it away now, Link, when we are at our most dire?"

He glared at her and thought of everything he'd done that had led to this moment. All of the people who'd believed in him. Everyone who'd died for him, and still would still die for him now, blame or not. It was a heavy weight. So much to bear.

But he was not the Hero of Courage for nothing. Even if there was a deep part of himself that hated the horrible call of destiny.

"You know I won’t, Princess."

"Then it is decided," Zelda said firmly, for better or worse. Impa nodded her wizened head. Link hung his in defeat. "When do we perform this spell?"

"In three days," Impa replied gravely. "On the night of the next Blood Moon."

* * *

It was time. The night of the Blood Moon. If all went according to plan, this would be their last chance to save Hyrule and its people. One spell. The strength of the princess. A final push of courage, one desperate month, and then no matter what happened at the end, it would all be over.

It took everything Link had not to violently vomit.

He and Princess Zelda had entered the Shrine of Resurrection as Impa had instructed them to, going as far as the resurrection pedestal where the ancient technology was strongest. The slate's pedestal sat waiting. According to the old Sheikah's instructions, the spell was decidedly simple. They placed the Sheikah Slate in its slot. Zelda would lay upon the resurrection pedestal and recite the incantation. A mark on the floor would appear and Link would step upon it. Zelda would say the final part of the spell.

"What then?" they'd asked.

"I do not know," Impa replied. "I'm praying for a miracle."

It had done little to steady his nerves, and Link hadn't missed Zelda's nervous tick as she chewed her lip.

But they were here now, the slate in place, the princess prone upon the pedestal, and Link ready for whatever would happen next. At least, he hoped he was ready. This was all that was left. There was nothing else except a slow demise. One final chance. One painful last attempt.

"All right. No time like the present," Princess Zelda said, and alone like this a tiny tremor made her voice wobble, the only weakness she displayed. Her tense eyes darted his way. "We are ... we are doing the right thing. Aren't we?"

Link's face twisted, but he remained as solid as he could be. If she was afraid, it was his job to give her courage – even if he doubted his abilities these days. She'd made the decision though, and she would hate him if he let her have an out. And that, at least, was unacceptable. He forced himself to unclench his teeth.

"We don't have a choice anymore, Princess."

Her lips tightened and she turned her eyes toward the ceiling, staring at it like she was about to go to war. "Right."

Right.

They began.

Her voice filled the room with the prim tones of High Hylian, the spell flowing out of her mouth as if she'd said it every day since she'd been born. Link would have been happy to listen to it any other day. She had a nice voice. But with her spell came a rush of energy, of power, and Link didn't miss the way she flinched, her voice snagging before she pushed valiantly onward.

"Princess?"

She ignored him, face tightening as energy began arching over the top of her body, cocooning her in pale, transparent blue light. Her hand glowed, her Triforce brightening, and Link struggled to remain where he was. The energy strengthened and the slate's screen gleamed electric blue with power.

"Now, Link!"

He was already moving. No sooner had she said something did a glowing circle of golden light appear in the center of the room, and without hesitating he stepped inside. The energy flared a vibrant green and the Triforce mark on his own hand glowed gold.

Zelda was already speaking again, her voice sharp as pain colored every syllable. A glance her way showed why. She was glowing gold too, gold mixed with blue light and the Triforce on her hand was sparking with power. Pain snapped at his own hand and he gritted his teeth while the light cocooning him did the same in green. The slate's screen shined a brilliant, pure white, the ancient technology reacting in ways Link couldn't begin to understand. By now the princess was screaming the last of the spell and Link was clenching at his wrist, fighting back a howl of agony of his own. The room went white. Blinding. It blanketed everything.

And then it was over.

Darkness descended before the light of the technology flickered back on as if remembering its purpose. The circle below him was gone. The glowing blue light around the princess was gone. The only evidence that something had happened was the persistent glow of the Triforce mark on both of their hands and the Sheikah Slate's strangely glowing screen.

Otherwise, nothing.

Zelda slowly sat up. Link turned toward her.

"Did it work?"

Silence met him as he and Zelda eyed each other, unsure. They waited, but after another tense moment, she sighed.

"It was an old spell. It is possible that we didn't perform it correctly or that it was nothing more than a tale." Zelda gave him a small smile that didn’t reach her eyes. "We lost nothing for trying."

Link sighed but agreed. All in all, at least nothing had gotten worse. That could be counted as a win, and he took what few small victories he could these days.

Lifting a hand, he helped Princess Zelda down from the pedestal before approaching the terminal to retrieve the slate. But when he got there, he frowned.

"What is it?" Zelda asked, peering over his shoulder to study the screen. "Activation acknowledged?"

They both yelped as blue lightning abruptly struck out from the slate, striking the earth, the ceiling, the walls without discrimination. Reacting immediately, Link shoved Zelda back, throwing her behind the resurrection pedestal before unsheathing a small knife to draw any potential lightning away from the princess and toward himself instead.

None of the lightning struck anywhere near them, impossible as it was, and in lieu of the danger, they cautiously peered into the cavern.

"What's—?"

"I don't know," he breathed, adrenaline making his hands sweat, "but the slate—"

Link's words were drowned out as the slate and all the ancient technology around them began emitting a sound, high-pitched, electrical, magical, otherworldly and terrifying. Zelda's hands clung to his arm hard enough to leave bruises, but Link could barely feel it. The air was charged, his mouth filled with static, and instinctively he curled around the princess and pulled her down to the ground, screaming for her to close her eyes. Their hearts thundered in unison. Whatever was happening, it was beyond them and there was no way past the lightning storm to the safety beyond the shrine. His hand with its Triforce mark burned.

And then it was over again.

He couldn't hear a thing for a moment. His ears rang with the phantom sound of the screaming technology and he couldn't hear his own cough as he waved his hand to dispel a thin layer of dust that had resulted in the spell's aftermath. The lightning was gone and everything seemed still.

Link forced his eyes open, but everything was dark and it took an age for his eyes to adjust. The ancient technology’s pale blue light brightened back to normal and when he saw no bright, deadly flashes of lightning, he uncurled from the princess. She stared at him, blue eyes searching, posing her own questions since he still couldn't hear her voice. He could only frown. With a hand, he urged her to stay down just in case. After that spell, he didn’t trust the shrine enough to stay here, not now. They needed to leave, and for the moment everything seemed still. Taking a breath, he peeked around the edge, wary in case something else happened.

There was no more lightning, but now he wasn’t sure he hadn’t been struck because something _must_ have happened to account for what could only be hallucinations. Illusions. This didn’t make sense. He must have even been killed. Whatever this was, something had happened to him during that lightning storm because what he saw now made no sense. None at all.

In the room before him, in various states of bewilderment and battle-ready awareness, stood six others. Each blond. Each blue-eyed. Each bearing the mark of Farore's Chosen. The Triforce of Courage identical to the one on his own hand.

There, impossible as it seemed, were six more Heroes of Courage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy, the Links are here! I can't wait to introduce them :]
> 
> See ya Monday!


	3. Summoning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who wants to meet some Links!

**Wind**

Wind watched the clouds above him and listened to the sound of the ocean that always lapped so nicely around Outset Island. He was home, he was _finally_ home, and everyone had been saved. Aryll, Tetra, the world. _He_ of all people had saved them and now he was home. Grandma was making stew, his and Aryll's favorite, and last he checked Aryll was playing with the other island kids. Tetra and her crew were supposed to be sailing back sometime tomorrow.

Link, Hero of the Wind, was so confused.

_"Come with me," Tetra said before she'd left the island. "There's land out there, real land, not islands. I know it. I want you to help me find it, Link. I know we can."_

Wind closed his eyes and breathed the scent of the ocean air so deep he was sure it filled him all the way to his toes. Why did she have to say that? Why did she have to ask him to do something crazy when all he wanted was to stay at home. Finally have a normal island life now that the world and all of its oceans didn't need a kid like him anymore. He could be lazy, sleep whenever and wherever he wanted. He didn't have to _do_ anything anymore. He'd done enough.

No. More than anything, Wind wanted to be normal. No more destiny. No more magic power. No more talking ships or sunken lands. No more horrifying monsters or their king. That was all over. He’d had _enough_.

And yet, here he was, lounging on his bag of equipment like he used to aboard the King of Red Lions, using it as a makeshift pillow. He didn't know why he'd packed it, only that he had. It had everything he could possibly need for a trip across the sea. Food. Bottles of potion. All of the items he'd found and earned which had helped him save the Great Sea. His sword was by his side, his bow and arrow quiver attached to the bag. If he wanted he could get up _right this second_ and go on an adventure.

Wind appeased himself by saying he couldn't _go_ on an adventure dressed so normally. To go on an adventure, he would have to be _dressed_ for an adventure. Dressed in Hero’s Green, and he was _definitely_ not dressed for that. The moment he'd gotten home he'd thrown that outfit under his bed where he hoped the rats would eat it.

Wind wasn't a hero anymore. He was just a normal kid ready for a normal life living on his normal island. He was fine with that. _Thrilled_ even.

And yet he found his eyes had drifted from the unending sky to linger on the shape of the Triforce on his hand where he'd lifted it above him. The Mark of the Hero. The Triforce of Courage.

Why hadn't it gone away after he'd saved the Great Sea with Tetra? And why did it make his heart race like it had every single time he'd set sail for a new island on his quest to defeat Ganondorf?

Why _did_ he want to spring up right now and go with Tetra on her crazy adventure?

"I'm in my normal clothes. I'm just a normal kid," he told himself again, more firmly this time. "No crazy adventures or monsters out to kill me because I’m not wearing the stupid green suit."

"Why are you talking to yourself?"

Wind screamed, startled, and Aryll laughed at him from where she'd found him on the roof.

"You know, when you scream like that it gets harder for me to tell everyone just how brave my big brother is."

"You startled me!" he said, sitting up quickly to scowl at his little sister. "And how did you even know I was up here anyway?"

"Uh,” she said as she put her hands on her hips. “Because you were talking to yourself and I have really good hearing from when I was captured?"

The irritation he'd had filtered out as he remembered what had happened to her, but Aryll being Aryll didn't let him get himself down for it. She hit him on the shoulder. She'd been doing that a lot lately, ever since she'd been kidnapped and made friends with the other girls. He respected her for it, though he wished he wasn't on the other end of her fist as much.

"You saved me, remember? And that's how I _know_ my big brother is brave." She settled down beside him, wrapping her arms around her knees. Her gaze slipped to his bag, sword and bow attached, and she arched a brow. "So ... you are going with Tetra?"

"I don't know. No. Yes. Maybe?" he shook his head. "I don't _want_ to go. I want to be normal. I want to be home, like this, with you and Grandma. I want to be lazy and sleep all day."

"Then why are you all packed up?"

"Old habits," he said lamely, ignoring the part of him that called himself a liar. She arched her brow again and he rolled his eyes skyward. "Really!"

"If you say so," Aryll said, quieting as she looked away from him and out to the water beyond. "You know, it's okay if you _did_ want to go. I wouldn't get angry or anything. Neither would Grandma."

Wind's heart hammered in his chest.

"What, you two want me to go?"

"No!" she said, eyes going wide. "I'd love it if you stayed."

"Then why did you just—"

"I just don't want you to stay _because_ of me and Grandma."

He stared at her, dumbfounded. Aryll rolled her eyes at him.

"You know, big brother, sometimes you're kinda stupid."

"And that was kinda mean."

"You know we want you to be happy, right?"

Wind stared at his feet and frowned. He thought of home. He thought of the boundless sea. He thought of all the friends he'd made and all the close calls he'd survived. He thought of how he would never have to experience them again and it cooled his heart. He still said the words anyway. "I am happy."

His beloved little sister gave him a tender smile, the one that always saw through him before she sighed and nudged his shoulder with her own. "Whatever you say, big brother. Anyway, just wanted to tell you that Grandma's almost done making dinner. Come down soon."

"All right," he replied, bothered more than ever as he watched Aryll climb down. Soon she was out of sight and he was left alone beneath the boundless sky and the endless ocean beyond. A gull cried nearby. One of the kids shouted where they played across the island. Wind's heart ached.

"I am happy," he said, trying harder than ever to convince himself that it was the truth. "I _am_."

He wished he didn't feel so much like a liar.

Wind hissed, pain erupting on his hand faster than he could understand. When he looked down he was horrified, elated, confused to see his Triforce mark was glowing a brilliant gold.

"What the—?"

His words cut off as green light surrounded him, and he scrambled until his hand brushed his bag. Without thinking and relying on experience gained from survival itself, his palm found his sword as his other hand shouldered his pack while his mind raced to make sense of the situation. But it didn't make sense. This was Outset Island. This place was a place of peace. Of normalcy. This, whatever this was, wasn’t _normal_ and _shouldn't_ be happening. He was wearing his normal clothes!

But even as he thought that, the light on his hand glowed brighter and the green energy swirled around him, blocking out the sight of his beloved home. Deep down he knew he’d been lying to himself. Knew with certainty that it didn't matter if he'd put on his hero's outfit or believed that his comfy, homey, nothing-could-possibly-go-bad clothes could save him. Something was dragging him away, and whatever it was didn't care what he was wearing.

"No!" he breathed, taking a step, trying to find a way to stay, a way to go, but he didn't get that far. The green energy consumed him, sweeping him away from his island like a leaf in the wind.

* * *

**Sky**

Sky could only stare at Zelda wide-eyed, dumb, _useless_ as she smiled brightly after sharing her wonderful news. A baby. She was going to have a baby.

Their baby.

"Isn't this wonderful, Link?" she asked, all but glowing with motherly radiance he knew shouldn't already be shining in her but absolutely _was_. "Our child, the first of our people born here on the surface.” Her smile turned inward and proud. “Our miracle."

Still, all he could do was stare. It was as if the world had gone wobbly under his feet. Suddenly his hands were around her shoulders, holding her tight.

"Really?" he breathed, still stupid. "A ... a baby?"

Her smile was unbearably beautiful. "Yes. Our baby."

"Our baby," he echoed before a grin ripped across his face as everything fell into place. " _Our baby!"_

"Our baby!"

Sky wrapped himself around his wife’s petite form and filled to the brim with a sensation unlike anything he'd ever felt before he danced with his Zelda, celebrated for what felt like hours and hours with the news. It was a miracle that all of the surface and the entire sky hadn't just heard about their amazing news.

Later, Sky stood outside of their home looking across the land, and alone as he was, he couldn't help it. Another smile, one that was all his and shameless and maybe the biggest one of his life flooded his face. Happiness and amazement filled his heart and it had nowhere to go but outward in an excited, hopeful, brilliant yell – one better and more real than even the joys of his first flight.

A baby. _Their_ baby. He was going to be a father!

Sky shouted again, jumped and ran with all the energy he had as he whistled high and hard for his loftwing, racing through the fields toward his workshop. Hylia be praised, he had half a mind to run across the countryside and further with his excitement. They were having a _child_!

This had to be the best day of his life.

Abruptly he found himself in his workshop, and he could only stare around at it all as if seeing it all for the first time. What would he teach the child? Would he teach it to wield a sword if it were a boy, as he had been taught? Would he teach it how to play the harp if it were a beautiful girl like its mother? What stories would he tell it? And a loftwing! No matter what it was, they would have to learn to fly a loftwing. He would show them Skyloft. He would show them the world above the clouds, and the surface world as far as the eye could see. They would live in a world full of adventure and life and beauty. Sky could not _wait_ to show them, and he couldn't wait to do it with Zelda.

The rustle of feathers was all that alerted him as the crimson plumage of his loftwing flashed in the sunlight just past the workshop’s opening. He smiled at her, dashing out to touch and stroke her feathers as he shared the news for the first time.

“There’s a child on the way!” he exclaimed. “Can you believe it?”

She shuffled her taloned feet in that way that showed she was excited because he was excited before digging her beak playfully in his hair and squawking.

Sky laughed before pulling away and running his hands through his hair to fix it, and he couldn't believe that _this_ was his life. He couldn't think of anything he could possibly want more. _Nothing_ could top this.

Gritting his teeth, he scowled as pain speared through his hand, and all he could think was that he'd accidentally hit it somewhere on his wild run here. But as the pain grew worse and he thought back, he knew he hadn't. Just like, he abruptly realized, this was _not_ normal pain. Just like the location, so specific, so precise, _was not normal._

Gold glowed on the back of his hand, a summoning, there was no doubt in his mind. To where he did not know. Why he did not know.

But it was going to take him. He could feel it like a wave cresting, one that was about to crash on top of him. It demanded that he answer destiny's call. It required him to leave, and leave _now_ , with no promise that he'd return.

His chest filled with icy dread and the excited little dance his loftwing had been giving him stilled. She nudged his shoulder with his beak, then again more urgently.

"No," Sky said as he ignored her, voice panicked as he stared at his hand where the mark was blinding and relentless and _begged_. "No! Choose someone else, _anyone_ else! I've done everything you've ever asked for. Please!"

But whatever was happening, whatever force was taking him wasn't listening. An anguished grimace tore at him as he stared back at his little home with Zelda on the hill, smoke rising from the chimney as the bright spark of life they'd made had only _just_ come into his life.

"No, please," he begged again, desperate. "Not now, _please_."

The green light was overwhelming, and a different sort of panic filled him. This one wasn't of loss, but of urgency. The last time destiny had summoned him, it had been for the fight of his life. He was no fool. If this was happening and he couldn’t stop it, undoubtedly it meant he would have to fight again, and this time more than ever he _wanted to survive_. To make it back home even if it killed him, if only to see Zelda and his child again.

So, hating himself, he moved fast.

"I'm sorry, Zelda," he said as he dashed into his workshop and snatched his armor, his sword, and whatever he could hastily stuff into the nearest sac at hand. In desperation he wished Fi was with him. He wished she was here to tell him what was going on. To guide him. Instruct him on how to make whatever this was that was happening _stop_. "I'm so sorry."

But it didn't stop. The green energy flared one final time, but as it did he heard a tremendous squawk and crash. Red feathers and a massive avian body had all but torn through his workshop doorway and thoughtlessly he reached out for her as she stretched her beak toward him.

Sky didn’t know if he and his loftwing had reached each other in time, but in the end it didn’t matter. The green light blinded him and when it vanished a moment later, it took him too.

* * *

**Twilight**

Twilight stood in the mirror chamber like he always did when he was restless and alone and craving the cool shadows of twilight. In his mind's eye, he could still see it there. Massive. Horrifyingly beautiful. His dreams were filled with its reflection. His heart ached to pass through its portal just one more time. He laughed at himself for being so foolish.

More than anything, he wanted to see her again. Midna. The Twilight Princess.

His princess.

He thought Princess Zelda knew and he was grateful she’d never said a word about it. In the wake of Zant and Ganondorf's defeat, after ... after Midna had destroyed the only passage between Hyrule and the Twilight Realm, he'd been adrift, even if he'd hidden it well. He'd sought purpose by joining the Hylian Guard. He'd reacted to whatever situation Zelda asked him to reconcile across the recovering kingdom. He trained with others, made friends, attempted to build a life – one he thought his ancestor would have been proud of.

And yet, he always found himself here. He always stuck to the shadows where peace was gentle and easy to find. His heart still howled and sometimes when he was on the brink of waking, he thought he could feel a small hand still buried in the fur of his back. Could feel a small body balanced atop his own.

Twilight's heart ached with longing and he clenched his fist, struggling not to bare his teeth like an animal. It was a bad habit he'd yet to break.

"I see you're here again," a familiar voice said, and he glanced over his shoulder to watch Princess Zelda draw near. "Careful. The other knights are starting to believe you're cursed."

"Maybe I am," he sighed. "But it's more likely that I'm just a pining fool."

"You still miss her."

He gave a small laugh. "I have never been good at hiding my emotions, Princess."

"I've never thought that was a bad thing. I don't think she did either." Her eyes softened. "Honesty and kindness are the most valuable of qualities. I believe that's why she cared for you as she did."

Twilight couldn't say anything in response. He didn't know what he'd have said if he had.

"How much longer are you going to do this?" Princess Zelda asked, not unkindly. "We can't reach her."

"I know that," he said, pushing past the tightness in his throat. "I just ... I don't know, Princess. I feel like I'm waiting for something, and maybe that something will bring me back to her."

Twilight knew how he sounded. Foolish. Smitten. Ridiculous for wanting what he couldn’t have. But that was the truth. There was something within him that felt _certain_ that no matter what Midna had said or done, the way to the Twilight Realm was still out there, somewhere. He would somehow see her again.

Zelda eyed him for a moment before, just as his hand erupted in pain, she said, "Perhaps you're right."

He almost didn't hear her over the snarl he let out as he fought back the agony. His Triforce mark was glowing gold and he flicked his eyes toward Zelda.

"What's happening?"

"A spell. A powerful one," she replied calmly, her blue eyes taking in the anomaly. "Destiny is sending for you. I suspect soon you will be somewhere neither of us could begin to imagine."

His heart raced and he clenched his hand around the pain. Foolish as he was, he wasn't fool enough to believe that if this spell completed, he would be required to fight in some measure. He was the Hero of Twilight. He possessed courage, and that had always meant a fight of some kind. Although not as prepared as he'd have liked to be, he felt relieved that at least he had his sword and bow. Some of his most useful and practical equipment.

But a question remained that he couldn't hold back.

"What happens if I go?"

"I don't know," the princess said evenly. "I'm not even certain that you'll be able to return at all, Link. The future ... it's not that simple."

Light arched out of his hand, the green energy swirled around him and time was running out. He should fight. He should stay here where he belonged because this was his home. This was the world he had fought so hard to save.

But Midna. Even the possibility, no matter how slight, was too much to ignore.

"I could stop this spell," Princess Zelda said after a moment. She lifted her hand, the gold of her mark glowing in time with a pale blue light which matched the green around him. "The question is if you want me to."

Twilight stared at her and knew she was telling the truth. This princess, she was as strong as steel and as good as her word. He didn't know another woman like her, patient but razor-sharp.

"Would you let me go if I asked?"

"It's your life, Link," Princess Zelda replied. "It is your responsibility to yourself to do what must be done for it. If that means following this new path destiny has set before you, then I will not stop you."

Twilight chuckled at himself as he shook his head. He didn't know why he'd thought she'd give anything other than a pragmatic and wise answer. It was the reason why she was a great leader. A brilliant princess. In another life he was certain he'd have fallen in love with her.

But another princess had reached his heart first and ... he didn't want to give up. Not yet. If this meant he could see Midna just one more time, he wanted to do it. No matter the cost.

"Hyrule is safe," he said, decision made.

"And I will keep it so," she replied with a gentle smile. Her hand dropped and the green energy around him grew stronger. He was going now. There was no stopping it, and he found his heart lifting in response. Filling with hope. Somehow he thought Princess Zelda knew. "I hope you find what you're searching for, Link."

Twilight held the princess's gaze for a moment longer before giving her a small smile.

"So do I."

And then he was gone.

* * *

**Time**

The chamber was quiet all around him, a room filled with stillness and peace, and Time soaked it in. He had done this. He had had the courage to fight for this time and time and time again, and he had succeeded. At _last_ , he had succeeded. Granted, recent events ensured that it wasn’t perhaps the full success he’d originally believed, but he refused to give up. The answer to this problem would come in time, be _believed it_ , and he was patient. It was his greatest virtue.

After all, it had been patience which had taught him how to unite all the peoples of Hyrule, patience and courage. Qualities the Hylian Royal Princess and the Gerudo Thief lacked. That was why they were hiding from him. That was why the people of this land had chosen _him_.

They'd wanted a King of Peace, and Time had provided them everything they could have wished for.

"Report," he said, his voice calm and echoing through the room. An adviser knelt before him, head bowed. Reverent.

"Apologies, your Majesty. The search for Princess Zelda and the Demon Thief Ganondorf is still progressing slowly. There are rumors that they are seeking haven in the Gerudo Desert—"

"But the desert has been ... hostile," Time finished steadily. "Continue gathering intelligence. They've chosen a poor haven if the rumors are true. Life is difficult out there and they will find little support. It will only be a matter of time. Station soldiers at the border. Wait."

"As you say, my King."

He gave his adviser a small nod and watched him back away to make room for another. As it was, his court would remain in session for several more hours at least. But it was necessary to maintain proper control. And he had not worked so hard to lose that control now. After all, this is what his kingdom needed.

Order. A careful, patient, courageously unrelenting hand.

And once he figured out how to break the spell, time itself.

Time lifted his hand to usher forward the next adviser before he paused. Pain arched out from it, shocking his flesh. All he did was bring it closer, fascinated.

His Triforce mark was glowing.

"My King?"

"Something ... interesting is about to happen," Time surmised, twisting his hand this way and that, feeling the pull of a spell. Paths were opening. Possibilities were unfolding.

This might be exactly what he was waiting for.

Emboldened, he stood, unclasping his ornate cape before letting it fall upon the throne. Freed, he reached for his sword and strapped it on, his bow and arrows following after. The pain was growing now, a green light circling him. He didn't have long, and so he chose what few items he would bring with care, and once chosen and tucked away he lifted his gaze.

Time addressed the people – _his_ people – where they waited gathered before him, eyes wide and full of concern.

"I'll be gone, but I should not be long," he said calmly, straightening his tunic and tightening the strap holding the sword tight against his back. Checking the pouch with the useless ocarina out of habit. "My order still stands in the meantime. Continue the search for Princess Zelda and Ganondorf. Apprehend them by whatever means necessary."

Much as he wanted them gone, he was never one to put all of his eggs in one basket. He might still need them, and that meant he required those traitors still breathing.

"Of course, your Majesty."

Satisfied, Time smiled and took a smooth, easy breath. He let his eyes gaze upon his throne room, his kingdom one last time before he submitted himself to the spell’s pull. His heart was sure and certain, as was his confidence in what the future would hold for him. That he would find a way.

After all, he was Farore's Chosen. Courage incarnate. King of Hyrule.

And if he was right, the threats to his perfect kingdom might never bother him again.

* * *

**Kid**

The fire crackled in its small, hastily assembled pit, and Kid bobbed a booted foot in time with the aimless song he played on his magic-less ocarina. Idly he played Epona's Song, and his best friend's ears twitched and her tail flicked. He played the Song of Storms and pretended that it was magic which was causing the rain to start outside when he knew full well that it had started to drizzle a few minutes ago. He played the Song of Double Time in the hopes it would bring dawn faster so he and Epona could leave this soaking forest – or at least find a way out of it.

He did not, however, play the one he was sure had ruined his life. Or the not-life that existed only in his memories now.

Bored and a little annoyed, Kid tucked the ocarina away and sighed as he leaned against his gear. It would be hours before dawn and he had nothing to do to wait out the night and the rain, and tempting as it was to push on, the last thing he wanted was for Epona to get hurt. Still, he wanted something to do – _anything_ to do.

Anything, so long as he didn't have to sleep or think about everything he'd done.

"It's gonna be one of those nights, girl," he said to his faithful horse, eyes staring up at the canvas where it shifted with each drop of rain from above, dimpling but never letting the moisture through. "You know what I think we should do when the rain lets up and the sun rises?"

In his head he imagined a small voice cheerful as a bell responding, even if it never made it as far as the real world. _"What's that, Link?"_

"I think I'm going to find a lake and swim around for a while," he replied to the imaginary voice he wished every day wasn't just imaginary. "It's been a long time, you know? I can't wait to show you how I swim now. No more Zora tunic. I get to actually _be_ a Zora!"

_"That's amazing, Link!"_

"I know!" he said with a grin, caught up in his imaginings. "And I can be a Goron, and a Deku Scrub too. It's a little weird sometimes, not being me-shaped, but it's also a lot of fun too. I can be whatever I want to be."

_"Can you be an all-powerful god too? Capable of destroying entire villages and decimating armies if you wanted to?"_

Kid's thoughts went silent and his playful grin faded, replaced with a look that was both too old and too dark for someone so young.

But he wasn't so young, was he? Not after a lifetime that a princess took away. Not after reliving the same three days over and over and over again for so long he had no idea just how much time _for him_ had passed. Not after growing arrogant and righteous in his skills and abilities, his _need_ to prove he was a hero, _still_ a hero.

How could he be so young after what he'd done? After how he'd used the Ocarina of Time and what it had taken to force himself to bring it back to the princess it belonged to so he could _never_ use it or its most powerful ability ever again.

Alone as he was, he didn't have to pretend. He didn't have to hide how he felt and he glared darkly at the fire as if _it_ had caused his mind and his memories to turn. Quiet now, fatigue fluttered at the edge of his consciousness, and if he could have he'd have glowered at it too. He didn't want to sleep. Sleep was the last thing he wanted, especially when it was haunted with a phantom melody and incredible insidious power and temptation.

"One of those nights," he said bitterly, kicking a stone into the fire. In its dim, flickering light, he counted the line of scars along the back of his forearm, silver tally marks. Five. Five straight and clean. Five to remember.

Five to know.

Kid looked away from them but unconsciously rubbed them too. Two of them were still raised, well-healed but also young compared to the others. He pressed them until they ached.

"One of those nights."

Kid closed his eyes and wished he had _something_ to do. Something to distract himself. _Anything_.

Pain came again, only this time it wasn't from his scars but from his hand. And it wasn't dull pain but sharp, piercing agony.

"Farore on high!" Kid blasphemed, snatching his wrist as if that would stop the onslaught but it didn't. It only drew his attention to the mark on his hand, the Triforce of Courage glowing gold and bright against the twisted tendons rising below his skin. A growl rolled out of his throat as he pulled himself up onto his knees, pressed his hand flat against to damp earth as if that would help. As if that would tell him _what was going on_.

"Damn you!" he snapped, needing an easy outlet before slamming his hand down again. It didn't help. If anything it made it worse, because as soon as he did that, brilliant green light began curling around him, rising out of nothing. Tugging at him. Dragging at him. His mark burned brighter and the only thing he could think of was that something important was happening. Something divine. And that could only mean one thing.

"Well," Kid said through gritted teeth as he reached behind him, snatching at his gear bag and heaving it onto his shoulder. "I did mean anything."

Epona whinnied and he glanced over his shoulder to see his best friend rise, eyes wide, and a bit of guilt brushed his heart at the thought of leaving her behind. But she was so smart. If anyone could take care of herself, it was Epona.

"Take care, girl. I don't know if I'll be back, but like always, I'll try."

His horse screamed, but the sound was drowned out by a high-pitched whine as the energy flared.

And then Kid was gone.

* * *

**Shade**

Imparting his final bit of skill and wisdom to his descendant had been the moment of greatest pride and fulfillment in Shade's long, pain-filled, unending existence. For a long time he'd wondered if the day would ever come that he'd feel this peace. Life as a spirit, forgotten in the world of the living, alone in the afterlife, summoned when needed only to be discarded again ... sometimes he wondered how he'd endured it.

Well, it wasn't so hard, he supposed. Loyalty, duty, they'd been what had driven him in life, and he wasn't so surprised that in death that was what had driven him as well. Faithful loyalty to Hyrule and its royalty. The duty of a knight, if not the forgotten Hero of Time. The hope that one day ... one day he would finally move on from what had kept him locked in the afterlife and find true peace.

The years had been long. Occasionally he’d forgotten who he was and all the things he'd done. Shade would watch the world with only an echo of emotion, all that was left for him in his undead form. Phantom-like and half-real as he’d waited for something he'd never known. Reacted almost mechanically whenever summoned.

Until he'd fell the pull of destiny, not on him but on another, a pull that echoed out toward him because he had once been the focus of that same destiny, and he’d remembered in full. It was then that he'd found his descendant, a young man clad in green and filled with outstanding courage and a mark he'd know anywhere.

Link, just like him. A boy bathed in twilight.

Ah, that boy hadn't been the swiftest of learners, but when he’d learned he’d mastered, and it wasn't long before Shade had had to step in less and less. The lessons grew further and further between until there had been no more lessons left, and Shade had believed in this boy.

For the first time in his memory, long as it was, he'd felt contentment, and the only shadow upon him was the fact that when he'd watched his decedent succeed, he hadn't been able to tell him how proud he was. How he couldn't have asked for a better successor – a better _son_ – than he.

Afterward Shade, at long last, had begun to fade. And he'd welcomed it. He was finally done. It was all over. He trusted another to carry on their legacy. To be the hero. There was nothing left for him except eternal rest.

Only, as he'd approached that welcoming abyss, he'd felt the tell-tale call of destiny again and he knew that no matter how his heart craved, he could not pass. Had it been the son of his soul? Was it another world in need of a guardian? The call for a soldier to weather the front lines of combat since none other was strong enough to withstand the hoard? What was destiny summoning him for this time? What could it possibly want with his weary soul _now_?

Shade didn't know; only knew better than to ignore the call. His hand ached and he knew what that meant. His phantom heart heaved, and he turned from the abyss and its promises of rest before straightening his shoulders. Shade's armor weighed on him more and more with each step, and he wished more than anything that just _once_ he did not have to answer. He prayed that this, whatever it was, that _this_ would be the final time.

He'd done enough. Ten thousand years he’d served the whims of fate. What more could it possibly want from him?

With those thoughts in his mind, he bowed his head and closed his eye, kept his hand on his pommel and allowed the green light of destiny to take him where it would. Demand of him what it would.

One last time.

* * *

**Ganondorf**

Ganondorf stood atop Hyrule Castle and breathed in its pure, wild air. It was cold, being the middle of the night, and so casually dressed it was no surprise the wind chilled him. It didn't matter. He enjoyed it. The sensation of his skin prickling, his nipples hardening, his muscles warm down to the bone as they fought the cold, it was _divine_. Being a dried husk had afforded him little in the ways of sensation. Now, for the first time in ten thousand years, he felt _everything_.

Except, perhaps, true life.

But what he had was close enough, and there was no doubt that at the very least he had power. That was only right, after all. He who held the Triforce of Power, filled with might enough to command the darkness and monsters infesting this world. It felt glorious to wield. Like extending a muscle in a truly pleasing stretch.

And yet, he stood alone. Just as he always would.

The magic in his grasp threatened to spark, but he held it back as he stared across the plains toward the Great Plateau where his adversaries nested in the last bastion of safety within Hyrule. If he wanted, he could take it. Leave this broken castle and defeat them right this _moment._ Their princess was weak. Their hero was broken. It would be _so_ easy.

The mere thought of it made his chest feel hollow. All this time hating them, hating everything, vowing to bring about a kingdom of darkness with he as its king, and now that he was alive enough to do it, he found the idea ... boring. Useless. A pathetic dream worn thin with time. He wasn't sure if it had ever _been_ his dream or something destiny decided for him, but at this point that was neither here nor there. He held Power. Courage and Wisdom would always fight him in the end.

It all felt so ... old.

Pulling his gaze away from where his opponents holed up, he watched as the Blood Moon rose. He had to admit, the resistance had made impressive attempts to retake Hyrule from the monsters. Their failure was inevitable, it was always inevitable, but they had tried valiantly. He respected that.

No doubt watching their hard work amount to nothing as the creatures they destroyed were revived would weaken them that much more. Make it that much easier to take the rest of this land whenever he decided it was finally time for a mercy kill.

Ganondorf's face twitched as pain seared through his right hand.

It was nothing he couldn't handle, not when the list of things capable of mortally wounding him was shortened down to one. But still it was sudden and unexpected, and that was where the mystery lay.

Then the power exploded, and with heart-stopping surety he knew that something had _changed._

"Oh," Ganondorf said in surprise as he stared at his glowing right hand where his Triforce mark blazed gold. Felt with his spirit-sense that something pivotal had just occurred. Something ... incredible. Something new.

With a grin, Ganondorf jerked his head upright, turning toward the Great Plateau where the others _must_ have done something truly desperate because where a moment before he'd felt the distinct presence of Wisdom and Courage, now there were more. No. There wasn't more Wisdom.

But there was more Courage. Seven flames of Courage. Impossible.

Ganondorf's heart raced.

For the first time, things were changing. And he for one was ready for the change. The challenge. The possibility.

The hope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah yes, the cast has been introduced. Now let's see how they begin interacting with each other.
> 
> See ya Thursday!


	4. Gathering

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh man, they're all together now! I wonder how they're going to take it?
> 
> Enjoy!

**Wind**

When Wind opened his eyes after the green light had stopped blinding him and screaming in his ears, he thought he'd gone blind and deaf anyway. He couldn't see anything but darkness. He couldn't hear anything but a high-pitched whine and then silence.

Involuntarily, he screamed.

That he heard, and the familiar sound of his own voice seemed to echo with shouts and cries similar to his own. A body bumped into his before another jostled him, and suddenly he found himself shoved to the ground. Feet threatened to trip over him and he curled into a ball, deciding it was best to wait whatever was happening out until he understood what was going on.

To his surprise, the next thing that touched him was a hand, steady and careful on his shoulder. Peering out cautiously, Wind saw that he wasn't blind. It was just really dark, but his eyes were adjusting to the low lighting. The hand holding him was attached to a man with hair as blond as his and kind blue eyes.

"Are you all right?"

"What's going on?" The question burst out of him like a cannonball. "Where am I? What's—?"

"I suspect that's the question we're all asking," the young man said with a small smile. "But I think it has something to do with this."

The man lifted his left hand and Wind thought he'd gone deaf again because the world went quiet as he gaped. On the young man's hand was the Triforce of Courage, _his_ Triforce mark.

"Don't worry," the man said with amusement. "You still have yours as well."

Wind jerked his left hand up and was both shocked and relieved to see that this other person with the Triforce of Courage on his hand wasn't lying. His was also glowing right where it always had been, brilliant gold in the dark.

That was when he saw that there were other golden triangles flying through the air on hands like fireflies. The other voices he'd heard hadn't been an echo of his. They'd been others.

Wind began to shake. This ... he'd done and seen a lot lately. He'd sailed upon a talking ship. He'd spoken to gods, learned to control the wind, and had found a land below the sea. Somehow, none of that had bothered him – _truly_ bothered him. They may have been impossible things, but they'd been _his_ impossible things. He'd at least known a little of what was going on. There had been some understanding.

Wind, just a boy from Outset Island who'd somehow saved the Great Sea and who wanted a normal life on his island with his sister and grandma and maybe a little adventure, he _did not understand this_.

But it seemed like no one else did either.

"What?" he said with mounting horror. "What—!"

His voice was lost though, and now that his eyes had adjusted he could only stare at the others. Including the one protecting him where he was still sprawled on the ground, there were six others with the Triforce of Courage glowing on their left hands and one woman whose glowed on her right.

"Is anyone going to tell me what's going on here?" demanded another kid about his age. He was dressed in green, his eyes like fierce flecks of sapphire. "Where am I? Why am I here? Why did you summon me?"

"Whoever did this, undo it!" another snapped, only this one was another young man about the same age as the one with him. He was dressed in simple clothing unlike anything Wind had ever seen. In one hand he clutched chainmail and in the other a sheathed sword and sack. "Whatever magic this is, I want no part of this. Send me _back!_ "

"We can't send you back," another blond man wearing a blue tunic said, arms crossed defensively across his chest. "We need you."

"Who are you?" another green-clad figure calmly asked, this one an older teenager with a strange, sharp edge to him. "What is this place? Why are we here?" This one glanced around, staring at all of them. "Who are all of you?"

"I think that's fairly clear," the young man beside Wind said as he stood, offering a hand to Wind who sucked in a breath to steady himself and took it. This man was dressed in Hero's Green too.

"Heroes."

The deeper, gruff voice that slipped into the air was so startling and unexpected that everyone fell silent. Against the wall watching them with stoic calm was another man with pale hair and the Triforce of Courage radiating through the armor of his glove. But this one was different from the rest of them. He was older. Much older, a mature man with hair going gray at the temples above strong frown lines with a beard along his jaw, not sporting Hero's Green but clad instead in owl-motif gold armor. And instead of two blue eyes like the rest of them had, he only had his left one, the other long since scarred over.

The look he gave them was steady. Unmoved and aware. His gaze fell on all of them and Wind threatened to shrink under the sheer weight of it. A glance told him he wasn't the only one feeling that way. The one with the sharp edges sucked in a quick breath when the knight locked eyes with him for an instant before that hard eye moved on to everyone else.

The old knight finally let his gaze slide to the woman, as blond and blue-eyed as the rest of them. She stiffened but also lifted her chin. The knight bowed his head in deference. "I'm right, aren't I, Princess? We are Farore's Chosen. All of us."

"That's impossible," the one holding his chainmail snapped. "There is only one Triforce. One Hero." Wind caught the way he almost glared at the woman and the mark glowing on her hand. "One Priestess."

"But there are multiple worlds," the other kid said slowly, considering.

"And there are other times," added the kind one beside Wind. This one approached the princess. "Will you please explain what is happening, miss?"

This woman stared at them before glancing at the young man in blue who only frowned and dropped his gaze. Wind's heart raced, his hands clammy. _What was going on?_

"Our Hyrule is in peril. It has been for quite some time, but recently everything has taken a turn for the worst. At the end of our rope and with no alternative, I cast a spell, one which would bring us aid." The woman swallowed and took a steadying breath. "And here you all are."

A heartbeat's worth of silence filled the strange room they were in before it exploded with noise.

There was shouting, a lot of it, some directed at the hero in blue and the other at the woman. Others attempted diplomacy like the one who'd been kind to him. Wind couldn't make out a thing in the madness. Most of the adults were arguing except for the old knight, but all of them focused on what had happened.

A small body in a flash of green broke away while the others weren't looking before passing by him, heading toward, Wind realized, a doorway. Wind reached out, snagging a wrist.

"Where are you going?"

"Out," the other boy said, and Wind was stunned to see a hint of adventure and mischief there. "I want to see what's outside. Don't you?"

Wind glanced at the other boy then at the mess of adults behind them. He frowned but made his decision and shouldered his pack. "Anything's better than here right now."

"Right?" the kid said with a grin, clearly pleased to have the company. "Come on."

No one noticed them leave.

Nervous as he was, Wind was happy for the movement because it gave him something to focus on, and when they found a ledge to climb, it was something to do. He was quick to the top with the other kid racing him the whole way.

That was when he felt the wind. The wind which had always been a friend to him, always promised to listen and protect him. The wind was here, and for half a second he thought he heard the ocean. Maybe he wasn't as far from home as he dreaded. Maybe this was just a hallucination. A nightmare. But the wind didn't lie. The wind was real.

He smiled.

"I know! Isn't this exciting?" The other kid ran in time with Wind. "Race you out!"

Wind didn't care about a race, but he was right on the kid's heels. This time he was blinded by the brilliant light of the moon, one edged with the strangest glint of red he'd ever seen.

That was curious. He'd never seen anything like that before, but he forgot all about the moon when he saw what was beyond the hill before them, right at the crest.

"Whoa!" the other boy breathed, but Wind didn't hear him. Couldn't hear him over the furious pound of blood in his ears even as the wind caressed his skin. Wind could only stare as pure, unbridled terror filled his body because this _couldn't_ be right. It couldn't.

But no matter where he looked, in every direction it was the same. Land. Land as far as his eyes could see, not an island, but something bigger. Something impossible. Something his Great Sea couldn't hope to ever compare to.

A world without an ocean. A world he knew down to the core of his being was _not his home_.

"It's beautiful here," the other kid said brightly, hands on his hips as he stared out at this horrible world with an air of easy adventure. "Don't you think?"

Unable to take it, Wind collapsed to his knees, numb, sick, afraid, and wondered if he'd ever see his family, his island, or his Great Sea again.

* * *

**Twilight**

"You had no right!" shouted the infuriated other as he stabbed a finger at the blue-clad hero of this world. "Send me back. Send us all back!"

"We need your help," the princess pleaded again. "Please, just listen."

Her entreaties fell on his deaf ears and Twilight was more than happy to step away from this argument. Truthfully, he couldn't add much to it himself, given that he suspected he was the only one who'd made the active choice to come. The others clearly hadn't been given an option. Or at least this angry one hadn't been.

Once again Twilight found his eyes sliding toward the silent old hero standing by the wall, and he nearly jolted when he met a hard and knowing blue. Unable to help himself, Twilight arched a brow, communicating silently. This impossible man frowned but lifted his hand ever so slightly at his side, a move only he saw and understood. Wait.

It was difficult, but Twilight frowned and remained quiet for just a little longer, watching his ancestor approached the group. Ever since he'd first encountered the old spirit, he'd always thought his father’s ability to dominate the world around him had been an effect only Twilight was susceptible to, but he saw he was wrong. The very act of moving closer had caused the argument to die immediately. Twilight watched him study the others before he moved forward, pausing at his father’s side and joining the group.

"Enough. What's done is done. What we need now is to understand our situation so we can determine if there is a way home and what we will need to do to achieve it," he nodded to the one who was most agitated, "Losing our heads will help no one. Can we all agree on that?"

Although it was clear enough for Twilight to see the reluctance that flashed across more than a few sets of eyes, eventually his ancestor earned a nod from everyone.

"Good," Twilight's now-alive ancestor said. "We need to find the boys now. While everyone was arguing, they took it upon themselves to leave."

"Boys? What boys?" the knight in blue asked.

"The youngest," the diplomat of them replied, glancing around as if just realizing that was the case. "There was a boy in blue and another in green. They were just here."

"And they left, as boys do," the old hero said. He spoke to the woman with the Triforce of Wisdom upon her hand. "Where does the passage lead? We need to find them before they find trouble."

"It leads just outside," she replied, moving toward a strange object containing an item which glowed with otherworldly brightness. Curiously she tapped the light, swiping her finger across it until she saw whatever it was she expected to see and passed it to her knight. "The slate has a new function as a result of the spell, it seems. It's attuned to the Triforce of Courage."

Her knight studied the strange object before his brows lifted in understanding. "It's tracking us." He turned to face the rest of them, moving forward but he didn't take his eyes off the light. Twilight watched, perplexed as he abruptly stopped in front of him. He peered at Twilight.

"It says you're the Hero of Twilight."

Surprise swelled through Twilight, and curious, he looked at the light. There were green dots on it, and now that the center one had neared a second, words appeared, labeling it. Twilight couldn't help but be impressed. He’d never seen anything like this before.

"I am the Hero of Twilight," he admitted. "My name's Link, though."

"That's my name," the knight in front of him said, brow furrowing. The angry one frowned.

"It's mine too."

"I suspect it might be another commonality," the diplomatic Link said with a smile that suggested his name was no different. He moved forward and Twilight watched one of the green dots drift toward the tiny cluster. Once he was standing next to them, the green dots mirroring their positions, another line of text appeared, labeling it.

The one holding the object arched his brow. "Hero of Time?"

A kind look entered his eyes. "The one and only."

Twilight's brow furrowed, about to say something because this was not the _Hero of Time_ , but from over the top of their heads his ancestor caught his eye and shook his head firmly. He swallowed his words.

By this point the angry one neared, his label appearing like the others. Hero of the Sky.

"I've never seen anything like that before," he – Sky – said, anger ebbing for the moment. "It looks similar to ancient magics I've experienced, but they were nothing like this."

"It's a marvel," Time added, intrigued. "Why aren't you named?"

The object's holder's lips pursed, and his eyes darkened. "Because I'm hero of nothing. Why else would you be here?"

"We're wasting time," Twilight’s ancestor said before he turned. "Be mesmerized later."

"He's right. The sooner we speak as a group, the better," the woman agreed.

Her knight obeyed her order and they followed his father out of the strange, underground place and into a balmy night with a breeze filled with the scent of forest and smoke. The others moved further out but Twilight stilled as he stared at the night sky. The moon flashed red, casting the world in the strangest light.

It reminded him, only just, of the dark magics of the Twilight Realm. His heart ached harder than it had since the Twilight Mirror had been destroyed.

What if he’d been right? What if a path to the Twilight Realm existed here?

"Hey, are you all right?"

It was Time, and Twilight forced himself to nod and move. If his ancestor had thought it would be difficult to find the last two of their number, that wasn't the case. They were right in front of them, on a hill overlooking this strange land. The one in blue was sitting with his knees drawn, taking stiff breaths as he clenched the fabric of his pants while the other boy looked on with a tight, bothered frown.

"What's wrong?" the old hero asked, and now the boy in green's frown turned toward him.

"I think he's having a panic attack."

The princess pushed forward before dropping to the shaken boy's side. Her hand eased gently onto his shoulder.

"Link," she said, and the boy – both boys – looked at her, but she remained focused on the one in blue. "I know this is a lot and I'm sorry that this is happening to you, I truly am. But I need you to come with us. I need you both to come with us. I know it's not much, but I have some answers. Perhaps they will help you."

"I don't think they will," the boy breathed, his head sinking into the cradle of his arms. "This world isn't right."

"Hey," the other kid said, kneeling down beside him to give him a kind grin. "I know what you mean. This isn't the first alternate world I've been to, so I know how jarring it can be. Like you're far from home." He stuck out his hand. "But it's going to be okay. You're Link. I'm Link. We're the Heroes of Courage. And if I can do it I bet you can too."

"I wasn't supposed to be a hero, I never asked for this," the other boy said, and after a quick glance at the slate with its markers, Twilight saw that the one in blue was the Hero of the Wind, while the other was more simply labeled Kid. Wind's breath shuddered. "I just wanted to stay home on my island with my family. I was supposed to be _done_ with all this and have a normal life."

Kid sighed, but it wasn't unkind. He reached for Wind's wrist. "Nothing about our lives are ever normal." That said, Kid eased Wind up to his feet before looking up at the rest of them. "Well? I thought you had some answers, lady."

"This is Princess Zelda of the Royal Family," her knight said firmly. "Her name is not 'lady'."

"Oh," Kid said, his features abruptly going blank as he glanced away. "Well."

"Is there somewhere we can go to speak?" his ancestor broke in, once again keeping them on track. Another glance at the slate caused Twilight's brows to twitch up. The old knight was strangely enough labeled simply as Shade. "Unless you would like to have this conversation here."

"There's a fire just down the way," this world’s Princess Zelda said, gesturing down a trail.

Soon enough they were by the fire she'd mentioned. Under real, normal light, if there had been any doubts about being Farore's Chosen Heroes, it was dispelled immediately. It was almost eerie how similar they all looked now that they could see each other clearly. There were subtle differences, sure, in hairstyles, clothing, and age, but at a glance, they looked like they could all have been related. Born from the exact same family.

Given his and Shade's relation, maybe that was _actually_ possible.

"It's important that you all listen," the woman said once they were settled and she had their attention. In the light now he saw she was just as ragged-looking as her Link, and while she was different from his world’s princess, there was no doubt in his mind that this was Princess Zelda. Or one of them, at least. "I know there are those of you who don't want to, but the more time we waste the more dire the situation becomes. The less likely I will be able to return you home."

That last sentence snared the attention of everyone gathered. Sky spoke first, his tone slow and low with barely contained rage.

"What do you mean?"

"This spell, it summoned you, all of you for a reason, and that is to help us defeat a great evil plaguing our land. If you can help us do it, I can and will return you to where you belong. The spell lasts for the next month until the pentacle of the next Blood Moon." She gestured to the red moon above them glowing with the eerie magic that reminded him of the Twilight Realm.

Only there, the moon was untainted. This moon radiated evil.

"And if we can't?"

"Then we will all die, the spell will end, and my ability to return you to your homes will cease to be. If you don't die, you will remain here in this world until the end of your days.” Her face was tense. “I'm sorry."

"We didn't ask for this," Wind whispered before his eyes turned pained and angry. "I've already been a hero. I just wanted a normal life, and now you're telling me that I have to do it again?"

"Yes," Princess Zelda said before her gaze dropped from his young eyes. "I know I didn't ask, but there was no time to ask. I understand if you won't forgive me, but it doesn't excuse the fact that you are a Hero of Courage. And you were summoned when destiny called. You were chosen."

"I didn't want to be chosen," Sky said from where he sat on a log before the fire, brow pressed into his clasped hands as if in agonized prayer. "I _don't_ want to be chosen, not again. I’ve done my part. I just want to go back to my—" Abruptly his words cut off and he surged to his feet and turned, heading away from them and down the path. "I need some space."

"Wait!" the princess's knight said, but now that one of them had left, it started a chain reaction. Time frowned but rose to his feet, following Sky and telling them that if they needed them, use the slate to find them. Wind suddenly stood, body stiff.

"Are there any bodies of water nearby? I just need-I need to see the water. It doesn't need to be much of it."

"I think I heard some water over there," Kid said, springing to his feet, already moving. "Come on, let's go."

"Hey!" this world’s Link shouted.

"Let them go," Princess Zelda said, wilting. "It's a lot. It might even be too much."

"They need time. We all do." Shade sighed before he turned. "If you'll excuse me, Princess."

Twilight caught the look Shade covertly sent his way before he vanished into the shadows of the forest across from them. Zelda eyed him.

"You too?"

"Find me when you know what you're doing," he said before heading upward, higher and toward where they'd all came from, and then higher still. As far as he could see, land unlike any he'd ever seen before stretched far into the horizon, and with his wolf-blessed eyes he could see things in the darkness he wondered if the others could see. Monsters roamed far below from what must have been a massive plateau they were currently on. He saw a castle in the distance, and it radiated red and black energy. It was strange, miasmic energy that seemed to permeate everything. It was something he’d felt since he’d arrived, the wolf in him sensing insidious danger.

If he shifted into his wolf form, he knew his fur would be standing on end.

Footsteps sounded ahead of him and he saw a small collection of soldiers patrolling. They looked worn out, hungry, tired, and as they passed him they said, "Champion," in sober tones. It was unnerving how they didn't hesitate to call him that, as if they knew who he was when clearly they'd mistaken him for the hero they knew.

He was starting to wonder if coming here just to be drawn into another war had been a good idea. Then he thought about Midna.

Eventually he wandered into a thick copse of trees, seeking their sheltering shadows much like Wind had craved the company of water. These at least were familiar enough he could feel more like himself. Even when he'd been in his own world, serving his Zelda, Castle Town, Hyrule, all of his familiar places stopped feeling ... right. He felt most alive running through the forest, his eyes filled with dark twilight.

Midna. The Twilight Realm. Both had changed him so much.

He wanted them _back_.

The sound of footsteps broke him out of his thoughts and his hackles rose until he saw the figure appear out of the shadows. Tall, broad, one-eyed, and alive.

Shade smiled, and it was as if a weight Twilight hadn't realized he'd been carrying was lifted from his shoulders. Twilight grinned before dashing to his mentor, his teacher, his surrogate father.

"Son," Shade said, taking him by the shoulders. The smile brightened a face Twilight had never seen before but knew all the same now that he had skin and muscle. He clenched at his ancestor’s forearms and a look of love, care, and familial pride filled Shade's eye. "I saw what you did, saving Hyrule and the Twilight Realm. I watched you. I believed in you and you ... you made me so _proud_ , son." Shade pulled Twilight against him, holding him tight. "I'm so proud of you."

Twilight had never thought of himself as an emotional person, but it was hard to ignore the way his throat tightened or the way he clung back shamelessly when all his life he'd been alone. He'd had his village, sure, his friends. Later he'd had Midna and Princess Zelda, but family ... a father? Someone who'd guided him, cared for him, kept him safe and then believed in him enough to let him fulfill his destiny? Twilight’s heart _ached_.

"I never thought I'd see you again," he said around the lump in his throat as he pulled away to stare at Shade. A laugh of disbelief burst out of him. "And like this! Father, you're _real_. You're alive!"

"I can't believe it either," Shade admitted. "It's been so long, I forgot what it was like to have muscles and a real body. It almost feels wrong."

"But this is what you looked like, right?" Twilight asked, filled with curiosity. "You're so—"

"Old?" his mentor asked with a wry grin.

"—formidable."

A dry chuckle slipped out of Shade's lips and he gently patted Twilight's shoulder before giving it a squeeze.

"You've always been so honest. It's one of your best qualities," his eye softened before he sighed, hand trailing off before he looked off into the distance. "We might need as much formidable strength between us as we can get."

There was something dark and cold in his words. Twilight sobered instantly. "What do you mean?"

"Something's wrong, son," Shade confided, crossing his arms to stare out toward the distant castle as if he could see something Twilight could not. "I felt it the moment we arrived."

"The evil this world's Zelda was talking about?" he asked. "I know, I felt it too. It’s bothering my inner wolf. I see so much energy radiating from the castle."

Shade's eye caught his and held it so firmly Twilight's heart chilled. His brow furrowed.

“What is it, Father?”

His father’s words were slow to come. “I’m not sure. Not yet. There’s something here but it feels … convoluted.”

Twilight stared, bewildered. “What do you mean?”

Shade frowned, and the bothered look in his eye was enough to bother Twilight. This was the Forgotten Hero. The Hero of Time or ... or one of them, anyway.

"I don't know," his ancestor finally said, his words slow and careful. "But in all of my years … something feels different."

Twilight frowned but didn't know what to say. He didn't doubt Shade. His ancestor was thousands of years old and probably knew more about _everything_ than Twilight ever would. If he suspected something was different, Twilight knew he should listen.

But whatever it was, deep down he wasn't sure it was something he wanted to get involved with in the first place. He was a hero, sure, and if his father asked for his help, then he would give it without question. But Twilight had come with goals of his own.

And if he found the path to his princess before he was needed here, he was going to take it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess they're not gelling very well as a group :( But at least Twilight and Shade are doing okay :D
> 
> Next chapter on Monday


	5. First Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! I hope you're enjoying the ride so far and I hope you enjoy this chapter too :]

**Wild**

Wild buried his face in his hands, trying to cut out the headache, trying to cut out the world, trying to cut out the reality that was his life since Princess Zelda cast the spell.

"I don't see how this will work, Princess."

He waited for her calm words, her reassurances, but all he got from her was a heavy sigh before she dropped down next to him on the log he'd decided would be his seat and, if he was lucky, the place where the ground would open up and eat him alive. When he hazarded a glance her way he saw that she was mirroring him exactly.

"Would you hate me if I told you that neither do I?"

They sighed again, this time in unison.

"What are we going to do," he muttered. The fire flicked in front of him, alive and well. It was so hard not to hate it for its levity.

"The spell brought them here. I must believe they can help." Her shoulders slumped. "Why could we not do this on our own, Link? What did we do wrong?"

In Wild's opinion, he was the last person she should be asking. If anyone had failed, he had. Practically everything she'd done she'd succeeded at in the end. But no matter how much he wanted to take all the blame on himself, he understood. Her father had been hard on her, and her confidence was shattered as much as his.

"I don't know."

The silence built between them, crowding them, and the only solace he took from it was that he wasn't alone this time to endure it.

"We need to find a way to get them to help us," the princess said, breaking the silence to speak her thoughts and work through the problem. "They are heroes, all of them. I know it is in them to help us."

"At least two of them want nothing to do with this," he said, providing facts. Helping her sift through everything to find a solution. "The Heroes of Sky and Wind."

"Yes, I know. But the kind one, the Hero of Time?"

Wild nodded.

"He seems willing at least," Zelda continued. "And the older one. What was he hero of?"

"It didn't say on the slate," Wild replied. "At least, it didn't say what he was hero of. It just called him Shade like it called the other child Kid." Mechanically he pulled it out, studying the map where seven green dots appeared all across the plateau. He could guess which were which given their locations, but when he tried touching the screen for more information, nothing appeared. It seemed like he'd need to be nearer to get more information about them, what little there was. "Perhaps they aren't heroes either."

"I doubt it with Shade," Zelda said. "It is hard to believe someone with such a commanding presence is not a hero. He carries the Triforce of Courage."

Wild knew. He remembered what it was like to look into the darkness and see six others with the same mark he had on his hand. A mark he'd always thought was only ever his.

"Why _are_ there others with my Triforce piece?" he asked. "Princess, it doesn't make any sense."

She frowned and eyed him, giving him a look that told him she had a theory, even if it was impossible. He arched a brow. What more could surprise him now? It was all the encouragement she needed.

"There are legends that we have heard all our lives, about ancient heroes and priestesses and demons who have done exactly what we are trying to do now. I studied every instance of them in the great library while I was growing up, trying to find a hint of what I needed to do to awaken my powers. Given the time, there was not much to go on, but what is important I think is that each hero, priestess, and demon was marked with the Triforce." She licked her lips, then bit them before getting to her point. "Link, what if it is _them_. What if _they_ are the heroes of legend? Through time, maybe more, I do not know ... but what if it's them?"

His instinct was to say it was impossible. There was no way. It _couldn't_ be possible. But in the firelight with everyone gathered, it was hard not to see similarity not only amongst their physical features, but also something deeper too. It felt like a thread was stitched between him and them, tying them together on some unseen level.

Much as he wanted to deny it, all he could think was that she was right.

"Even if they are those heroes," he said. "Why _would_ they help us. You heard that kid, Hero of the Wind—"

"Let's just call them by what they are hero of, for simplicity's sake, please."

"—Wind said he'd already saved his home," Wild continued. "Why do it again? And for a world that's not even his?"

"I hate to say it this way, but I believe they will do it _because_ they want to go home," Zelda restated. "They need us as much as we need them. If they do not help us, they might never get home again."

"There are some who don't seem too bothered by that, you know. Like Kid. And I didn’t hear a thing from Twilight. How do we get them to help if they aren't interested in going home either?"

"What a mess we have found ourselves in," she said, pressing her fingers to her brow. "I thought this spell would make things easier, but it has not. Now there are seven Heroes of Courage, they need a leader to bring them together and convince them to stay and help, and Link, it cannot be me. I can feel it, my power is contained here now, powering the spell in the Shrine of Resurrection. I cannot leave the Great Plateau. I cannot fight Ganondorf. Not like this."

Wild’s face pulled. "Then who's going to lead them?"

Her blue eyes traced him. "You know the answer."

At this, Wild shook his head and stood up. "It's not me, Princess. How could it possibly be me when I'm part of the reason we're in this mess? They've all succeeded where I've failed." His chest tightened but he forced the words out. "It's not my place."

"My champion," Zelda said, eyes tormented. "It _is_ your place."

He disagreed, but they'd known each other long enough – he'd remembered enough – to know that they were like two rams butting heads when they believed in opposite things. It didn't matter that he was always on her side and would always take her stance as her champion, when it was just them, the true depth of his stubborn nature came out.

His mind would not be changed. He agreed that they needed a leader, but it would not be him. Why would any of them possibly listen to him?

"Excuse me, Princess, but ... I'm sorry, I need some time to myself as well." Wild stood, suddenly needing to get away. To be alone as he always was in Hyrule's wilds where he felt distilled and himself, instead of the Hero of Hyrule. "I'll gather them soon and we'll work out a leader, as well as a plan on how we’ll proceed. But right now I need to be alone."

Princess Zelda frowned but eventually nodded.

He left, and when he was out of sight, he ran.

* * *

**Kid**

Kid climbed and climbed until he was as high up as he could go, his curiosity and sense of daring driving him to literal new heights. Below him by the water, the other boy lay limp, staring up at the sky as if trying to block out the sight of the land beaching him. Apparently he'd come from a world where only a massive ocean had existed, with islands dotting it and ships the only means of transportation. It sounded like a fascinating world to him. Definitely a place he’d like to see one day.

He just didn't quite understand why the other boy was having so much trouble adjusting to this world now. All things considered, this wasn't too bad in his opinion. At least they had a month to do what they had to do. At least the moon wasn't falling down, and it didn't seem like they were about to do some serious time travel. It had been two physical years since Termina, and somehow he'd found himself in six other worlds, hopping from one to another like he was jumping across rocks. Really, this wasn't so bad.

He just wished he had Epona with him.

"Hey, I'm going to look around," he called down to the other boy-Link below. "You going to stay here or what?"

"Do you think if I stay like this I'll wake up and it'll all be a dream?"

Kid answered honestly, his smile plain. "Not in my experience."

The other boy groaned but didn't move from his spot beside the water, and Kid figured that was fine. If all else failed and he wasn't still here when he drifted back, Kid didn't think it would be hard to find him. He seemed to like water a lot, given his water-filled world. He'd just check all the watering holes.

Moving quickly, Kid raced down the small cliff he'd found himself on so he was back on the ground before orienting himself and climbing. After so many worlds and places, he had a ritual built up. A pattern he filled so he could orient himself and get his head straight. It only had one rule.

Go up as high as you can.

The path upward was too close to the fire where the princess of this world was sitting slumped, and Kid decided to stay well away from her. He didn't want to deal with their problems, not yet. It was inevitable, inevitable for all of them because soon enough they would have to deal with whatever they’d been summoned for. No one knew that better than he did. He'd done this enough to know better.

Before his mind turned a dark corner, he climbed several rocks, leaped a distance into the darkness, and was away from this Zelda before she’d had time to realize he'd whizzed past. He kept his eyes on the path, his senses focused on the here and now and the way his lungs heaved with exertion and his muscles pumped against the steep hill. He resolutely kept his mind on excitement.

It was better than what had happened in Falfiza. Anything was better than thinking about that.

His personal quest higher brought him so high in elevation that the temperature dropped drastically. Snow was just beyond the pass, and excited he prowled forward. His hand dipped into his pack, his fingers brushing a rounded mask, the one he needed to endure the cold. This would be fun.

"It's cold out there," a voice said, and Kid paused when he saw this world's Link sitting by a fire. In front of him was a pot, one he was tossing ingredients in with mechanical motions. "I wouldn't recommend going. Not dressed like that."

"What are you doing?" Kid asked, willing to postpone his trip to satisfy his curiosity. "Are you making a potion?"

"I'm making dinner," he said instead. "I like cooking. It keeps me calm, and after everything that's happened … well.” He looked at Kid. “You hungry?"

Kid grinned. "I'm always hungry." The closer to the fire he moved the stronger the scent became, and he had to admit it smelled good. He wasn't that great at cooking, not past making something edible from whatever he foraged – skills learned from growing up with the Kokiri. Whatever was in the pot even _looked_ edible too. His stomach grumbled. "Wow."

This Link gave the weakest attempt at a smile Kid had ever seen, but he didn't say anything as he ladled some of the stew into a bowl and handed it over. Steam wafted into his face, spices unlike anything he'd ever scented or experienced filling his nose. This was one of his favorite things about world hopping. The food. All the different food.

"It's hot—"

Kid was already diving in, spoonful after spoonful vanishing with relish. After a week surviving on his lack-luster foraging skills, in this simple stew he found gastrointestinal bliss.

"So good!"

"I'm glad you like it," the Link said, clearly unsure how to handle his enthusiasm. "I'm surprised you can eat so well after what happened."

"What? This?" Kid asked, giving a purposeful eye toward everything around them. "This isn't anything new for me."

The Link of this world laughed bitterly. "What? Being summoned to new worlds and expected to save it?"

"Yeah," Kid replied frankly, finishing his bowl with a sigh of pleasure and relief. "This is the ninth world I've been to."

His new talented cooking friend stared.

"You're kidding."

"Nope. I've done all sorts of things. You see, I'm trying to find someone so I'm traveling, and ever since I started _this_ sort of thing keeps happening to me. It was weird at first," Kid admitted. "But ... I got used to it, and really, it’s fun – at least when you're not dying trying to save that world.” His tone sobered slightly. “Can't say that's a whole lot of fun."

The other Link looked lost. "I ... I still don't think I believe you."

Kid just shrugged. No one ever believed him. "Wish my horse could've come this time. Anyway, what should I call you?" Kid asked. "Can't exactly call you ‘Link’. I think we could start our own band with how many of us would probably respond at the same time."

"Oh, that's a good point. I've already started calling everyone by what the slate calls you to deal with that, but I don't have an easy nickname."

"That thing tells you our names?" Kid leaned over, fascinated by the strange, otherworldly object. "What's it say about me?"

The Link slid his finger across the screen and Kid watched as two green dots appeared. "That's mine. This one's yours."

His brow furrowed as he read. "Kid? Really?"

"Why? Is something wrong with it?"

As tempting as it was to say yes, Kid had learned from experience that as much as no one believed that he world-hopped into danger at the whim of the gods, people laughed in his face when he told them he was actually _much_ older than he looked. Kid wasn't a child anymore, not in the slightest, but that was the role he played because that was what everyone expected of him. It was hard to be otherwise when he had a body as young as his.

"Not really," he finally said. "Kid is just ... Kid. What are the others called?"

"Hero of Time. Hero of the Sky. Hero of the Wind. Of Twilight. Heroes, all of them." This Link looked down, eyes darkening in a way Kid had seen in so many people who'd given everything to accomplish a task and failed anyway. "You and the oldest one are the only ones who are different. Kid and Shade."

"Weird," Kid said. "So we've all got names. What do you want yours to be? You're lucky, you get to choose."

"Luck is not my friend," the cook disagreed before he quieted in thoughtful contemplation. "This world is a wild place. I know because I've traveled every inch of it.” The native Link gazed at the world around them. "Maybe Wild is what I should be called."

Kid grinned. "Well, Wild. It's nice to meet you. So, if you don't mind me asking. Why are we all here? And why _are_ there seven of us? I may travel a lot, but I've never met another me. Or type of me."

"I don't know why there are so many of Farore's Chosen," Wild said. "Princess Zelda wasn't lying when she said we are at the end of our rope. We found a spell that might save us, and you all came. I just hope you'll be able to help.” His words softened again as he peered down at the stew still simmering in the pot. “That you're all willing to help."

"Well," Kid said. "I've done this a lot, and I'm still looking for my friend so it's in my best interest to help you so I can leave before this next Blood Moon thing. What do you have to do? Don't tell me the moon's going to fall."

Wild startled. "Why would the moon fall?"

Kid shrugged.

"Are you sure you want to hear it now?" Wild asked. "I was going to wait until we were all gathered together to tell you at the same time."

"Sure. It seems like you've got a lot of variety between us, you know. Practice your sales pitch."

"You are so strange."

Kid grinned.

"There is a man here," Wild finally said. "He was sealed ten thousand years ago, but recently has been unsealed and is attempting to take over Hyrule using the Triforce of Power. He wants to defeat the Princess and me to take our pieces of the Triforce and conquer this land. And he is succeeding."

The whole time Wild was talking, Kid listened even if it had been difficult to ignore the realization burning bright in his mind. The shock and disbelief, because _no!_ There was no way he could be talking about the same person he was thinking of. It wasn’t possible.

But then, there _were_ seven Links here right now.

"Are you talking about Ganondorf?"

Wild startled again, eyes wide in shock. "You know about him?"

Kid sidled a glance away. "Well, yeah. I had to beat him once before. It was ... complicated."

"But you defeated him?" Wild said hopefully before he really looked at Kid. His eyes darkened. "A _child_ could beat his adversary in another world."

Irritation ripped through Kid. He hadn't been a child when he'd defeated his Ganondorf, but no one would believe it. He hated it, but he knew from experience that it wasn't worth it, especially with this world's Link looking like he wanted to crawl in a hole and die.

"Maybe my Ganondorf was easier? And maybe that's why you _need_ so many of us?" Kid let himself follow the train of thought. "I mean, most if not all of us are heroes of some kind. Maybe that's why we're here? To help you because you've got the hardest Ganondorf to beat. We can provide experience and support." Kid's smile widened. "Between all of us, we might be able to beat that old thief tomorrow."

"Even if that's why you're all here, it's not that simple. Probably not tomorrow." Wild gave him a smile, and this time it actually looked like a real smile. Kind of. "But thank you."

"No problem, Wild," Kid got up, dusted himself off and shrugged on his pack. "So, the highest part of the plateau is up there right?"

"Yes," Wild said, his brow furrowed. "Why?"

"I like to get the lay of the land," Kid replied, already moving. "I'll be back soon, okay? Definitely before dawn." He paused, then added, "There is a sun here, right? It rises?"

"Yes, in a couple of hours,” he said, bewildered. “And you shouldn't go up there, not unprepared. It's cold, you can freeze—"

"I've got something for the cold," he shouted over his shoulder. "You might want to go talk to the others. The other kid is down the path near a pond. Bring him some of that food! That might make him feel better."

Wild said something behind him but Kid was already running. Energy flooded his body and his mind demanded action and activity.

But more than that, he wanted to get up high because that was where he could find out for sure if this world was it or not.

Out of sight and shivering from cold and snow, Kid pulled out the Goron Mask and put it on, delighting in the new warmth and resistance he had toward the cold weather. Curling into a ball, he slowly built up speed, rolling along snowdrifts then steadily upward until he was going max speed, enjoying the thrill and risk. To his relief he encountered no one else except one monster he quickly steamrolled over, and soon he was nearing the summit.

Uncurling, he was content to move at this form's slower, plodding pace. The path leveled out and soon he stood beside a strange rock with the same sort of technology as the cave they'd arrived in, and for the moment he let himself marvel at the sight all around him.

Cliffs. Bluffs. Low valleys and high mountains and so much wild beauty just like Wild had said. It was unlike his world and all the other worlds he'd been to. It was filled with the same sort of nature, sure, but it also felt so very old. Like it had been forgotten and everyone was just now remembering it for what it was or might have been. In another life, he thought he wouldn't mind staying here to explore, just like Wild. He thought he could spend a long time doing it too.

But beautiful as it was, he resisted the temptation that always came with the marvels of a new world. If he let it, he knew it could drag him in. That was why he had a guiding light. His star, so to speak, the thing which kept him moving and focused, no matter what he needed to do. Or what he’d done.

Pulling off the mask, Kid shouted at the freezing temperatures that bit at his exposed flesh. Goose flesh rose along his skin, his ears, nose, and fingers burned, but it didn't stop him. With cold fingers he pulled out his ocarina, closed his eyes, and focused.

The notes that slipped out didn't dip or waver as he struggled against the cold. They came out pure and sweet. Soft and gentle like a fairy's song.

Because it was. It was the song of one special fairy. The one he was looking for.

It echoed on the breeze, flowing away, and tucking his arms around his body, knees shaking, he waited. Waited for the sound of bells. Waited for blue light as he peered everywhere. Waited for her to come and finally be with him again.

But after longer than he could bear, nothing happened.

Kid stared out across the land, studying the distant mountains and plains and the strange monster flying so far away, outlined by the red-tinged moonlight. There was so much world here that for a moment he felt small. It was just after he played the song, just after it turned up nothing that he always felt the smallest and so very alone. The chill of the wind speared through him, and unable to take it he put on the Goron Mask again though he couldn't find the will to leave this lonely point in the sky. At least not yet.

Navi wasn't here. She was somewhere else, and if he wanted to have even one more shot at finding her, he had to help Wild beat this Ganondorf so he could leave. And he had to do it before the next Blood Moon, or he'd be stuck here forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next post Thursday


	6. Leader

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy!

**Sky**

Even hours after the green light had taken him from his workshop, his loftwing, his life, his _family_ , Sky was still barely able to contain the anger that slid around his chest like water slopping in a teetering cup. He wasn't used to feeling like this. He wasn't an angry person; never had been. When bad things happened to him he dealt with the problems head-on, and with as positive an attitude as he could muster. Sure, there had been some hard times in the past, and during those it had been hard to see the silver lining, but there _had_ been one.

Despite the trials of fighting, defeating, and sealing Demise, this was worse. This was _so much worse_.

"Here," the other Link, the Hero of Time, said as he handed him a cup of something Sky hoped was strong. "Don't worry. It bites."

"Thank Hylia." Sky didn't bother taking it slow. He tipped his head and the contents back, and although it burned the entire way down, it at least matched and drowned out the hot stain of his own emotions. The alcohol settled in the pit of his stomach, sour and surly as he was. Just this morning he'd been having the greatest day of his life with Zelda.

And now this. Trapped in a world that wasn't his to fight a fight that wasn't his, all while risking never seeing his home and family again.

A groan slipped from Sky and he dropped his brow into his hand. He didn't want to think or feel. He wanted his loftwing so he could fly away and find solace in the great sky. Watch the ground fade away. Maybe somehow fly home.

Impossible, he knew. His loftwing wasn’t here and there was no way this sky could possibly connect to the one that had born him.

"Any better?" Time asked, sitting across from him at the table they'd found. The one everyone else they'd encountered had all but given them if only to discreetly gawk.

"No," Sky said bitterly, staring at the cup and wishing for more. He'd never been much of a drinker, but he wasn't unfamiliar with its siren call. "This can't be happening."

"I doubt we're both dreaming, let alone together," Time sighed as he glanced around. "It's too easy to see how real this is. These people ... they've clearly fallen on desperate times."

As unwilling as he was, Sky couldn't help the good part of him that knew Time was right. A glance at the various races around them attempting to go about their own business was enough to paint the story this world’s priestess and hero had told. They looked worn out. Tired. On their last legs. It didn't matter if they were familiar looking Hylians or strange bird-creatures. They all held that look of desperation in their eyes, that final flame of hope and life that struggled to keep going before it went out entirely.

Sky had never seen anything like that before. He'd managed to stop such horrors from happening when he'd defeated Demise. This world clearly needed help. He _could_ help.

The liquor was working, dulling the bite of his emotions and the fire of his anger. He sighed.

"We never asked for this, Time."

"Must we be asked to do what is right?"

Sky gave a faint chuckle as he rubbed his face. "Oh, you're a philosopher."

An answering chuckle slipped back toward him. "Hardly. I've just had to grow into those sorts of questions. In my world, I have many people who depend on me. Kingdoms. It's difficult not to think that way when the fates of so many rests on your shoulders."

"Well, I understand that last part, at least," Sky said. "So this doesn't bother you?"

"It bothers me," Time replied as he stared into his cup, eyes dark. "In my world, I have to find dangerous traitors and stop them before they hurt the rest of my Hyrule. My people. Me being here ... I don't know what will happen."

Sky wondered if he should be so furious, if he had any right to it when this version of himself had left kingdoms of people behind.

"We shouldn't be here."

"And yet here we are, brother," Time replied, getting to the heart of the matter gently. "But at least we are not alone." He gave a small raise of his cup and empty as his was, Sky mirrored it. At least that was true. He and Time it seemed had an understanding and no matter the change, it didn't feel so much like he was alone. New and unwanted as it was, he rather liked this new 'brother'.

Flashes of blue caused them both to look up, and to their surprise the native Link was leading the young, depressed Link in blue toward them. Seeing the boy caused a well of sympathy to open in his chest. Besides him, this child was the only other one who had reacted badly to the divine abduction.

"I'm glad I found you two," the native said. "Do you mind if we join you?"

"This is your world," grunted Sky. Time frowned but gestured to the seats at the table. Sky had to hand it to Time. The other was taking this way better than he was, and this hero had kingdoms still counting on him. Sky supposed some Links were not always equal. Maybe that was why they were here at all. The native Link looked like a stiff breeze was all it would take to knock him over. It looked like he would let it.

This world's hero took a seat and the boy did the same but slumped forward and rested his head within the cradle of his arms. Sky frowned and concern nipped at him for the boy. As bad as he had it, this boy was no more than a child. He wasn't sure if any of them had it any worse or better than the others, but he felt a sharp sympathy for him.

"Hey," Sky said, his voice gentling for the first time. "You all right?"

"No," the boy said. "I keep hoping to wake up. But it's not happening."

At least Sky understood that sentiment.

"I was just taking Wind to the barracks," the native hero said, nodding to the boy. "I figured some sleep might do him some good. We can figure all of this out in the morning. I can lead you both there too if you want."

"I think some rest would do us all a world of good," Time said before he lifted a brow to Sky. "Let's go, brother. Too much has happened for any of us to think with a clear head."

"Well, maybe for the rest of us," this world’s Link muttered. "Kid's taking it better than I could’ve ever imagined."

"Kid?" Sky asked, looking at Wind in front of him. "You mean ... the other boy?" His brow furrowed. "Where is he, anyway? I thought he'd gone off with ... Wind?"

"He did," Wind said, voice muffled from within the circle of his arms. "He went off to get a look around though. Wild's right. He didn't seem bothered by any of this at all. Just," the boy lifted a hand and swirled it. "Rolled with it."

Sky didn't understand nor did he approve. They should not be here, none of them, and there was one in their number that actually didn't seem to care?

"And now I'm rolling back in," a young, chipper voice said before the other side of Sky’s seat filled with a soft thump. The other boy leaned forward daringly. "So, I don't know about you guys, but I'm ready to fight Ganondorf when you all are."

Wild had been drinking some water but at the mention of the name, choked. Time's eyes went wide and Wind's yellow-haired head rose so swiftly it was a blur. The boy’s face paled.

" _Ganondorf?_ We have to fight _Ganondorf?_ " Wind turned accusing eyes at Wild, but he wasn't the only one. Time had stiffened and was also waiting for answers, and the fact that they'd both reacted so poorly and instantly to the strange name only caused Sky’s heart to beat harder.

"Ganondorf?" he asked. "Who’s that?"

"Demon King," Wind groaned, letting himself slump back down, though this time he didn't use his arms to stop his fall. His brow hit the wooden table with a loud, audible thud that made Sky wince.

"Traitor. Thief," Time added, voice going hard.

"He’s who we must defeat," Wild said slowly. "We defeated his Ganon form, but doing so unlocked his Ganondorf form, and he is _much_ stronger."

"So that's why we've been summoned."

The area went quiet and they all turned to see that the last of their group, the old hero and the feral-looking one had entered the canteen area, Shade and the Hero of Twilight from what he could recall from Wild’s strange slate. By now everyone who'd been attempting to discreetly listen in and stare at the seven of them had given up. Sky noticed several Hylians and a Zora gaping. A large, muscular, tanned woman was actively facing them. It made Sky feel uncomfortable. Although he'd always had attention for his deeds while at home, this was something else entirely. They were anomalies here.

He had to give it to the old man. He didn't seem phased by it at all. The younger hero at his side's eyes hardened with old hate.

"You summoned us to fight the Dark Lord?"

Wild glanced around quickly before shoving up. "I'd hoped to have this conversation later, but we might as well do it now if we're all here and interested. But I'd rather not do it in front of everyone if that's not too much to ask."

"Then lead the way," the old knight said, single blue eye cool and intimidating.

They made a strange group following Wild to the edge of the plateau where a great castle could be seen far in the distance. A grizzled old knight, four younger ones, and two children all sporting blond hair, blue eyes, and enough similarities that they could all be family. It made him uneasy but he did his best to hide it. He needed to cool off and focus. He had to do it to get home. To get back to Zelda.

They were alone and well away from the camp when Wild stopped.

"A few months ago I fought Calamity Ganon, a being filled with the power of evil and demise. The beast was prophesized to awaken and attack Hyrule a hundred years ago, which he did, though Princess Zelda was able to seal him in the castle. I was too injured and placed in the Shrine of Resurrection until I was recovered enough to return. I managed to take back the Divine Beasts used in ancient times, and together with the power of Princess Zelda we were able to defeat the Calamity."

"But Ganondorf returned," Shade said. Wild nodded.

"What we think happened is that Ganondorf's body was sealed separate from his power as Ganon. Before he revived with the Blood Moon, he was nothing more than a dried corpse, but after, he revived completely along with all of his immense power. We suspect it's ten thousand years’ worth of power."

One word kept circling Sky's mind. Demise. Evil and demise, and all he could recall was how Demise had promised that his spirit would live on. Find a new form. Dread swelled in Sky at the thought that somehow that promise had come true, realized here.

But Wild had said over ten thousand years ago. And every other hero here had reacted to the name of Ganondorf when he had not.

What did it mean?

"So defeating your Ganon unsealed Ganondorf," Twilight said quietly before casting a glance toward Shade. "Have you ever heard of anything like this?"

Shade crossed his arms, golden armor clicking. It was a moment before he said, "I can't be sure. But ten thousand years’ worth of power gathering could explain why he overwhelmed you so easily, Wild. He is no easy foe. You shouldn't feel ashamed at his return, nor his overwhelming strength."

The glade was so quiet they could all hear Wild's thick swallow. Sky saw the way his eyes darkened as he looked away.

"We've done everything we can to face him, but we're losing territory. Our peoples face hoards and we are running out of supplies and options," Wild continued without acknowledging what Shade had said. Sky found he could not blame him, even if he was still so very angry at how this had all played out. "Calling you all ... it really was our last option before we are overtaken and Hyrule truly falls. I don't want you here anymore than you all want to be here, but I would not have called, I would not be asking – _begging_ – for your help if I didn’t _need_ it. So please," he said softly, head bowed to them all. "Please help me save my world."

Sky wasn't the only one taken aback, overwhelmed, unsure what to do in this impossible situation. He could see it reflected in the eyes of most of the others. To his surprise, he was the one to break the silence.

"There is no way back, is there?" Sky asked softly, heart filling with ache. "If we want to leave, the only way is to defeat this Ganondorf. Before the end of the spell."

"Yes," Wild said. "That's correct."

He sighed and Sky wasn't the only one. All around him, whether he saw it in their face or not, the look reflected in blue eyes. A kind of settling. A knowledge that even if they didn't want to do this, they _would_ do it. And yes, it would be for personal reasons. He wanted to get home as soon as possible. But it was also for more than that. For something utterly pivotal in his – and perhaps their – characters. It was simple.

They were heroes. And by virtue of pure desperation, they'd been called to help another of their kind succeed. How could they possibly refuse?

Sky hated himself for it.

"It seems," Time said, speaking up with solemnity. "That the only way home is to answer the call of action and move forward." Time regarded them all. "This world needs us. We wouldn't be here otherwise. I, for one, am ready to help in whatever way I can."

"We don't have much of a choice," Wind said. "Not unless we want to stay here forever."

"We will fight," Shade said. "But it is late. Clearer ideas come with the dawn. We must rest before we take any further action."

"Right," Wild said, voice whispered and thick with emotion. "The barracks are this way."

He led them toward a hastily made building that had once been a set of ruins. They were well-lit, and Sky could hear the sounds of other soldiers and guards in the various rooms talking, sleeping, eliciting shamelessly. Eventually Wild led them down a small hallway where a small room with two sets of bunk beds, and an even tinier room with one set stood empty.

"If you need anything, ask anyone here. They'll tell you where to find me. We'll talk about what's next in the morning."

And before anyone could say another word, Wild left at a pace that made Sky think it was all he could do not to run from them.

Wordlessly Shade entered the tinier room and Twilight didn't hesitate to follow before shutting the door behind them.

"Wow, seems like they’re friends already," Kid commented before shrugging. "Oh well, race you for the top bunk, Wind!"

"Do we have to race?"

"It's probably a good division," Time said before he patted Sky on the shoulder. "I like you better anyway."

They followed the boys and although it was clear that Kid had won his little race, he still lounged on the lower bunk, giving Wind the top where it was clear he felt more comfortable. Time was already sitting on the lower bunk across from the boys, and without a word Sky climbed up to his own.

To his surprise, quiet and darkness filled the room. He'd thought that now that they were all together they might all ... talk. Share stories. _Something_. But it seemed that despite all the change and subtle differences, what they most wanted was the same. No one said a word as they left each other to their own thoughts.

And for him at least, there were so many.

For a long time, Sky listened to Time shift in the bunk below him, heard Kid give a faint snore where he slept oblivious to the world and their problems. Occasionally he glanced over at Wind who stared at the ceiling in the dark, eyes wide and hands clasped over his chest, unmoving. Sky wasn't even sure that Wind noticed he was watching, but he supposed it didn't matter one way or another. He shifted onto his other side, toward the darkness of the wall and closed his eyes. On the other side, he could make out the low rumble of Shade's voice as he and Twilight talked. He tried to listen – anything to stop his mind from racing and circling what had happened and everything he had to lose.

But he couldn't hear. He couldn't make out a damn thing, but in the end, perhaps it was better because the sound of life was lulling at least. On Skyloft he’d never been far from another person, and the barracks hadn't been much different from these. Since leaving the sky to settle on the surface with Zelda, an unforeseen quiet had filtered into almost every aspect of their lives given the sheer amount of space they had to themselves now. Truth be told, he still wasn't used to it even after several years. The press of others, even strange versions of himself, was oddly soothing.

Still, it wasn't nearly as soothing as the thought of Zelda and her warm body against his at night. The way she liked to quietly sing in the dark right as he drifted off. He prayed she would forgive him for being whisked away like he had. He prayed that she was safe and that she wasn't worried too desperately about him, though he knew better than to hope that.

After all, she'd told him her news. They'd celebrated and then he'd vanished.

What woman new with child wouldn't be suffering when the father of that child had not yet come home?

* * *

**Shade**

Shade held himself still in the quiet of predawn. The wind tickled his hair where it brushed across his cheeks. His armor weighed his body down. The sword in his palm was familiar as he held it in front of him. Waiting. Waiting.

The first rays of sunlight flooded over the mountains in the distance, caressing his skin and already he was in motion. Speed flowed through strong muscles, his sword gleaming and whistling through the air so rapidly it was a thing to marvel. With grace he moved through this form, one of the most strenuous of his arsenal, deadly and almost dancing with how quick and precise the movements were. He imagined foes falling to his sword. His mind was quiet.

When he finished his lungs heaved, his muscles sang, and as was the case since he started his training hours ago, Shade felt _alive_.

Panting slightly but quickly regaining control of his breathing, he tilted his head up and closed his eye as he relished the sensation of pure physical activity. Of muscles that screamed with exertion. Of the delicate way sweat clung to the nape of his neck and soaked the roots of his hair. He was alive.

Or, at least, something close to it anyway.

Taking one last centering breath, Shade sheathed his sword and went to the edge of the plateau where he took a seat on one of the massive stones to watch the sunrise. It was bright and warm, and the wind made his skin prickle but he couldn't remember a time he felt better. He'd been a dead thing only yesterday. Forgotten and barely real and on the cusp of true death. He'd thought after helping Twilight, he'd be released to the end. He'd been ready. He'd never felt so close.

But then the call. And now this.

Shade stared down at his gloved hands in wonder, amazed that beneath the fabric was real flesh. Not transparent spirit-flesh and bone. He could feel properly again. Everything felt so much _more_. Primal, after thousands of years without such needs. He got hungry. He could ache. His emotions were so much stronger.

It was a wonder that when he'd seen Twilight in the Shrine of Resurrection he hadn't immediately thundered toward him and crushed him with his arms to convey all the pride, care, and love he had for his descendent. This distant son of his had meant so much to him and embodied again, it was all he could do to keep his control. The need had almost overwhelmed him.

But then he felt it. The sense, his spirit sense. Somehow it had stuck with him despite his form made flesh once again. A sense that was impossible to keep or know if one was truly alive.

A sense only the dead possessed.

At first he’d only suspected, but later that night he'd proven his suspicions true when in the room he and Twilight shared, he had been unable to sleep. That, and when he'd sliced the palm of his hand earlier, alone and in the dark, it had turned spirit-flesh pale for a moment before sealing back up into unblemished skin.

He wasn't quite dead, but neither was he truly alive and mortal. His spirit senses were still real and strong. The pain he could feel was nothing but a temporary illusion.

And he found he didn’t want any of the others to know the truth. Not even his own son. He was in the closest facsimile of life he’d had in thousands of years. A proper knight. Known and seen and remembered.

No one needed to know the truth.

Energy swirled, teasing his spirit sense, and Shade frowned as he stared at the castle. He was too old not to know immediately who it was they'd been sent here to fight the moment they'd arrived. He'd been able to feel this world's Ganondorf's power like the slide of incredible heat down his spine, and when Wild had explained the situation, he wasn't surprised by anything he'd heard. The others were too young, too inexperienced and alive to be sensitive to it.

But not him.

Too long in the spirit-realm, he'd learned subtility, felt the threads of the world which bound it together. There were always three that were tangled which always felt more strongly than others. He'd become so familiar with them that after ten thousand years, he'd know them anywhere.

Shade stared at the castle and what he felt beyond the overbearing well of dark power ... was curiosity. A gaze aware and intrigued, even from so far away. This powerful, Shade wouldn't have been surprised if the Ganondorf of this world was aware of all seven of them collected here on this protected plateau.

Yet somehow it felt as if the one their enemy seemed fixed upon was him. As if he weren't the only one with subtle knowledge.

Shade turned away from the castle, putting the thought out of his mind. It was nothing. He was imagining it.

Now that dawn had crested the world was coming alive, and Shade knew his solitude wouldn't last much longer. He rose, leaving to find the others. They needed to plan and prepare, and they needed to do it as soon as possible. He had to hope this one night had not cost them.

Commotion near the barracks drew his attention, and alert he moved. There was shouting, yelling, the strange sound of a creature cawing furiously, and that was enough to get him running. The adrenaline burned through his muscles, it was invigorating, but by the time he arrived, he could only stare.

It was the biggest, reddest bird he'd ever seen in his existence. And he'd gone through over ten thousand years of it.

The ruckus was caused by several guards and soldiers attempting to, well, he wasn't sure. Capture it? Drive it off? Whatever they were doing the bird was not having it. Although it didn't outright attack, it was squawking and flapping, stomping and hopping.

"What's going on?" he asked once he was closer.

"We don't know," a Hylian responded. "It just landed here not long ago. We think it was trying to rest, but then it was making its way toward the barracks. I've never seen anything like it before." The soldier glanced at him, then did a doubletake. "Who are you?"

Shade didn't respond, not when flashes of green and blue and pale cloth burst out of the barracks in various stages of battle-readiness.

"What's that?" Twilight asked, sword drawn and ready.

"Whoa!" Kid shouted, a smile on his face. “I’ve never seen a bird like that before.”

"Hey! That's my loftwing!"

Shade watched Sky run toward the soldiers, hands raised, one to the guards and the other to the massive crimson bird. The soldiers stared at him, bewildered, but stopped their actions. The bird on the other hand squawked loudly before charging the hero. Shade was already moving, several feet closer to shove the fool out of the way when he saw the bird wasn't charging Sky.

It nuzzled him, cawing in what was clear happiness.

"You made it!" Sky said, taking its beaked head in his hands, the first smile Shade had seen out of the man brightening his face. "I didn’t think I’d reached you in time."

"I wish I’d thought of that," Kid muttered to himself. “Guess I could’ve brought Epona along after all.”

Shade's eye darted to the boy, uncertain if he'd heard right. Epona?

But now that he was looking, all Shade found he could do was study the child. Blond hair like the rest of them, but the way it fell was too familiar. Green clothing like some of them, but the cut was too familiar. The way he stood, the things he kept saying, the way Shade's eyes always kept slipping toward the pouch at the boy’s hip where he swore he could see the edge of a wooden mask, it was all _too familiar_.

He was moving before he could stop himself, and a thin, muscled arm was in his grasp the next instant. Kid flinched but that was all Shade needed to flip the child's arm just enough. Kid's Triforce mark glittered on the back of his hand. It wasn't what Shade was looking for, however. No.

Five silver scars ran horizontally along the back of Kid's forearm. It might have been a vicious claw mark from any number of monsters. It could have been anything.

But it wasn’t just anything. Not when the collection matched an identical set on his own arm, faded and old with age.

Shade felt sick.

"Hey, what was that for?" Kid jerked his arm out of Shade's hold, glowering as he unconsciously covered the scars, but Shade hadn't heard him, not really. His mind was a race of thoughts stitching themselves one right after the other, and he couldn't believe what he was thinking. There was no way. It was impossible.

It didn’t stop the faintest, barest hint of a memory from rising out of the distant annals of his mind. Something he hadn’t even known he’d had. Or forgotten.

The sight of a one-eyed knight in gold. Shade’s face as it was now seen from the body of a child.

"Shade?"

Twilight was eyeing him. His son, ever observant, must have noticed his reaction. But seeing Twilight after seeing Kid made something else open up within him. Something fiercely protective and parental. A potential threat not only to himself but to Twilight.

It settled all of his thoughts and, despite this impossible realization, made what he needed to do next very clear.

"Sorry," he grunted to Kid. "Thought I saw something."

"Yeah, well, just keep your hands to yourself, Gramps."

It had been a long time since something had thrown Shade off, but that did it faster than he'd been prepared for. He responded before he even thought to stop himself.

"Gramps?"

"Uh, yeah, what else am I supposed to call you, old man?"

Before Shade could say anything Kid raced off to see Sky's loftwing, forgetting about Shade entirely in an effort to entertain himself. The boy laughed, the boy was enthusiastic and filled with energy, and now that Shade thought back, Kid was nothing but action. No time for anything more than the moment. Going, going, going.

Shade's chest chilled.

"Father? What's wrong?"

He glanced at Twilight and knew better than to attempt a lie with him. Not with his son’s animal instincts so sharp and their bond so clear. But he couldn't bring himself to say it. Not yet.

He could hardly believe it himself.

"It's ... yet another strangeness," he finally said. "When I better understand it, son, I'll tell you."

"Seems like everything is strange, if not entirely problematic," Twilight muttered. "Is this about what we were talking about last night?"

"No," he said, tearing his eyes away from Kid. "This is something different."

"Oh, good, you're all here."

The clearing fell silent as this world's Princess Zelda and her knight, Wild, appeared. She startled at the sight of Sky's brilliant loftwing, marveling for a moment.

"What is that?"

"My loftwing, Princess," Sky replied. "Before I left she was trying to reach me. I guess as I was swept away, so was she."

"Is it ... dangerous?"

Sky smiled again. "No. Not unless I'm threatened, or she needs to be dangerous."

"Could she be left alone for a while?" she asked. "I need to speak with the seven of you. Time is of the essence. We must plan."

The smile Sky had given them slipped away and he was serious once more. Shade was pleased to find they all were because the princess was right.

After ensuring the loftwing would be fine, they followed the princess toward a massive ruin she called the Temple of Time. This time he kept an eye on how Kid reacted and noticed the boy's eyes skitter away, his demeanor cooling.

He also noted Time's look of muted interest. Now that there was something about Kid, there was also something nagging him about this Hero of Time too. He didn't think it was possible, but there was a lot about this place that was turning out to be impossible. After all, he himself had nothing to say and much to hide. What if he wasn’t the only one?

They gathered around a war table, a map of this world spread and labeled with markers. Red for Ganondorf’s armies. Blue for their resistance forces. Green for Fairy Fountains. Yellow for these ... machines called Divine Beasts.

"They will help us defeat and bind Ganondorf once more," Zelda said as she explained the situation. "They and the Great Fairies. We managed to free one of them here near Kakariko Village, and that was when we learned that they are guarded by dark creatures we call hollows."

"What are they, Princess?" asked Time.

"Dark manifestations of their opponents, whoever they are."

Time's eyes widened and Shade's darkened. "Do they look like us? Shadow versions?"

The princess stared in surprise. "Yes. That is right."

"Oh," Kid said. "No problem then."

Wild scowled, anger in his eyes. "You don't understand, Kid—"

"Yeah, I do," he said with a nonchalant shrug. "I've fought a Dark Me before. If I can do it once, I know I can do it again."

"I've also done it," Time added, looking at them all. "If this is what I think it is, it's only a manifestation of your deepest fears. If you can face that and defeat it, these hollows _can_ be destroyed."

Wind looked uneasy as did Sky while Twilight's eyes narrowed. Shade said and did nothing.

"According to our reports, there are hollows at the remaining Fairy Fountains, all four of the Divine Beasts, and we strongly suspect the Korok Forest has been tainted as well. Cotera, the Great Fairy we were able to free, managed to tell us that if we are able to defeat all of the hollows, Ganondorf's hold over the land and its monsters will weaken. We _must_ defeat them."

"And to do that," Wild said soberly. "We must work as a team."

"Okay," Kid said brightly, eager in a way that made Shade want to snap. "What's the plan? What're we going to do?"

"That's another reason why we're all here," Zelda said. "It appears there is a great deal of experience between all of you. I'm sure together we can develop a plan and accomplish it before the next Blood Moon. But to do that, I believe one of you must lead."

"This is Wild's world," Time said, pointing out the obvious. "He should lead."

Shade was as shocked as the rest of them when Wild's lips pressed thin and his head shook, leaving no room for discussion.

"I'm part of why this mess has even happened. I can't be leader."

Shade disagreed, but he also knew the look of a beaten man. For now, Wild could not be their leader when by all rights the position should be his. That did leave a gap that needed filling, and he agreed with the princess. If they were going to do this, they would need someone to focus and guide them.

"Who should it be?" Wind asked. "I don't think it should be me."

"I'll do it!" Kid said bravely, lifting his chin, eyes shining. Shade's body tensed, the idea abhorrent, but Sky beat him to it.

"How about someone with more experience?"

"I've got a lot of experience," Kid argued, but the general feeling that ran through the group agreed that he should not be in charge even if Shade knew he wasn’t lying. "Fine. Who then?"

The others looked amongst each other. Shade remained silent but caught the way Twilight glanced up at him.

"How about a vote," Zelda said. "I know you've only known each other for a short while, but I hope it has been long enough to determine who _should_ lead."

"Time," Sky said after a moment, casting the first vote. "He's steady. We need someone steady. Calmed me down, after all."

"I also think Time would be a good leader," Wind said as he bit his lip.

"Shade," Twilight said faithfully and without hesitation, Shade's descendant loyal to the end. "Shade has more tactical and strategic experience than all of us combined. He has wisdom. Focus. Control. I don't think anyone else would be a better leader. No offense, Time."

Time gave a kind smile. "None taken."

"I really don't care who we choose," Kid said with a shrug. "But whoever it is, they need to figure out what we're doing, and soon. We can't wait around talking about this forever."

"I value experience and wisdom," Wild said quietly. "And Shade has already proven several times now that he has the ability to command, let alone all of us."

Blue eyes fell on him and Time, and he stared at the younger man. Studied his face. Caught every feature that was as familiar as Kid's was.

And yet it was still somehow so radically different.

"My vote," Time said after a long, pensive moment. "Is for Shade. I agree with Wild. There's no doubt in my mind the Shade has more experience than we have. He knows how to command, and we have all listened and responded.” Time met Shade’s eye. “Will you lead us?"

Shade had known this was what would happen. He was not surprised. He had fought wars. He had commanded legions and saved worlds. He had no fear of death, for he had already faced such things and come through that too. He knew it was clear, not only from the scar which stole his eye, but from the way he held himself. The intensity of his presence.

And so he merely nodded, submitting to the role. It was better this way anyway. He could make sure none of these fools would get killed. He'd be able to help Wild work through his confidence problems. Keep Wind and Sky supported and focused. He'd be able to keep an eye on Kid and Twilight. And on Time.

And maybe, when this was all over, he could finally – _finally_ – die in peace.

"Well then," Shade said as he stared at the map of this world's Hyrule with all its kingdoms, all its Fairy Fountains, all of its Divine Beasts, and began to think. Began to plan. "Let's figure out how we're going to take back your kingdom and defeat your Ganondorf, Princess."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Looks like it's about time for the boys to start traveling. It should be fun :]
> 
> See you all on Monday!


	7. Team Naboris

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy!

**Wild**

Wild kept his eyes trained around them, constantly searching for threats as he, Wind, and their party of Hylians and Gerudo moved through the final pass toward the great desert, the fury of the darkened Vah Naboris, the tainted Fairy Fountain, and the two hollows he and a small boy from another world would have to face. It was difficult not to feel uneasy. This was new. New for all of them.

But this was the first time he was traveling with a small boy he hoped could help him save his world.

He hadn't exactly agreed with Shade when the old hero had finally come up with the battle plan and all of their respective assignments. There were seven corrupted Divine Beasts and Fairy Fountains all across Hyrule, and there were seven of them. According to the plan, they would each fight a hollow before they regathered to overcome the strongest one that had penetrated the Korok Forest.

"There will be three teams," Shade had explained. "Wild. Wind. You'll go to the desert."

In truth, Wild wasn't sure what part he would play in the plan. He half-expected the rest of the heroes to leave him behind. That would have been fitting, in his opinion, but no. Once he and Wind had reached the desert and had managed to penetrate the storm, it was decided that he would face Naboris – as he was familiar with the Beast's layout – and Wind would make his way deeper into the desert and the Fairy Fountain.

This was where his doubts began, and he could hardly help it when such a small child looked as doubtful as he did.

"It would be safer if Wind went after Vah Ruta," Wild had argued before they’d left when he'd caught Shade alone. "The deep desert isn't for the faint of heart."

Shade had only looked at him. "I don’t believe Wind suffers from a faint heart."

The statement had stung, whether Shade had meant it to be backhanded or not. After all, Wind hadn't said no to the assignment. He'd only nodded quietly, resigned with his arms around his knees.

After days spent traveling with the boy, Wild still wasn't sure.

Wind hadn't said much, and under normal circumstances Wild would have been thrilled by that. He rarely said much himself either. But all the boy would do was stare at the stars like he had a fascination with them, and every day was a struggle to get him on a horse.

"There aren't any horses where I'm from," he finally admitted one day. "There's not enough land."

It made him curious about the world this boy could come from. Especially when he vehemently refused armor beyond the durable travel cloak Wild had managed to procure for him.

"But it will protect you," he'd insisted. Wind had only looked away.

"I won't be able to feel the wind or move as well with armor on. It would weigh me down. I'll be fine."

Wind might have been fine on the Great Sea of his, but this was Wild’s Hyrule. He knew it better than anyone, and yet Wind would not listen to reason.

And so the trip had been spent quietly, he and their guards keeping a lookout for threats on the horizon while Wind stared at the sky, letting the wind tug at his hair. The hours had stretched long, and all the while Wild had wracked his brain, trying to figure out what they would do once they got there. How he would fight his hollow and if Wind could fight his. Soon enough they’d entered the pass. Even this far away, the skies had darkened and the scream of a gale roared in front of them. It made Wild's heart quake. There was a monster on the other end, a horrible darkness. That was the only explanation.

It was only when they stood at the entrance to the desert, safe at the edge of the pass where a cluster of Gerudo warriors were already waiting for them, did it become clear that if there _was_ a monster, he'd be hard-pressed to find it.

He could see nothing in the thick haze of course sand that tore through the air, ready to attack them. They had to pull cloaks and cloths over their mouths to keep the particles out of their lungs, and he had to squint to see, not that there was anything to see in the first place. Nothing but the sandstorm's darkness, even when he knew it was high noon.

Although he'd heard the reports, he supposed he hadn't believed it. Couldn’t imagine that the sandstorm was worse than it had been when he’d had to fight Calamity Ganon's blight. He hadn't believed it had actually blocked the path toward Gerudo Town and the desert beyond where he knew Chief Riju was stranded. Wild had not believed.

Standing within the safety of the cliffs staring out into the writhing darkness, he understood now. He believed.

It was so much worse.

"I don't know how we're going to find Naboris or the fountain," he said, numb. "Let alone enter the desert at all. The sand will tear us apart, and there will be no way to navigate even if we _can_ penetrate this. It’s a death trap."

Wild shouldn't have said that out loud, not in front of everyone, and he realized his foolishness when the Gerudo women's shoulders sagged and their gazes darkened with anger. They were relying on him to find a way through the sandstorm. They needed him to break Ganondorf's hold on Naboris and clear the path to their home. Their hopes rested on him.

And he'd all but admitted it was impossible.

Agitated with himself, Wild scrubbed his fingers through his hair viciously, causing sand to fall everywhere. He had to think of something, but his mind was coming up blank. It made him wonder if his last journey here to break Naboris free had been nothing more than a fluke. That Ganondorf had _let_ him win.

He supposed he wouldn't be surprised, all things considered.

"What's that?"

At first Wild was confused because the voice was young and out of place, and there weren't supposed to be any children here in this hellish place, but then he remembered Wind. The boy, another Hero of Courage like himself, was staring at a long, narrow piece of sanded wood, a pole sticking out of it with an attachment at the back.

"A sand boat," one of the Gerudo women sighed. "We thought we could attempt to sail through the storm as a sailor might on water, but the winds are too strong. We never get far enough before it tears through our sails and leaves our bravest stranded and lost, victims to the lightning."

The boy's eyes widened, but he approached the boat with a strange energy. "Does the boat itself usually survive? Is it sea-I mean, is it sand-worthy?"

"Yes," the woman replied as confused as Wild was. "What we build, we build well. But we are women of the desert. Admittedly, sailing is not a specialty of ours, let alone in such conditions, but we are crafters. It holds."

Wild wasn't sure Wind was listening anymore. The boy touched the sand boat now, scouring it critically with his eyes and fingers, checking for things Wild couldn't begin to imagine.

"It doesn't have a sail," the boy said.

"We lost the last one to the storm."

Wind's blue eyes brightened. He began digging through his bag and said, "Could you please get the boat upright?"

Wild tried not to let his mind piece together what that meant. What this boy, the Hero of the Wind, could not _possibly_ mean. Unfortunately, he found himself asking anyway.

"What are you—?"

Wind ignored him when, of all things, he pulled a massive blue sail from his bag and a strange white wand from under his cloak. For the first time, Wild thought he could see the hero in the boy. He'd never seen anyone so steady in the face of the most fearsome storm he’d ever seen.

"I have an idea," Wind said, eyes bright and fearless. "Do you know how to sail?"

* * *

**Wind**

The wind screamed in Wind's ears but against all the odds, despite the fact that this was sand and not ocean that their boat slid over, that it was sand and not water tearing at his flesh, that it was sand and not uncharted sea he had to navigate, he was _doing_ it. His hold on the sail was unrelenting, his awareness of the wind knowing and ready. His hand rested firmly on the tiller, guiding them at a moment's notice. Wild clung to the mast for dear life.

Wind felt alive.

Since leaving the others to travel with Wild, Wind had felt anything but. If anything, he'd felt out of his element, afraid, terrified of the earth that surrounded him constantly and a creature that did not float on water but trotted across the land. His rear was still sore from the saddle of the horse. He'd never even _seen_ a horse before this place, the creature terrifying him to no end, and all he'd wanted was the gentle rock of a boat. To go to sleep to the sound of water knocking against wood and the sea breeze clinging to everything.

At night was the only time he felt better, which was funny since it was the one time when everyone else was more on edge than he was. He couldn't help it, though. He'd lay awake at night staring up at the stars, marveling at their differences, asking Wild and their various companions which constellations were which. Which stars guided them. In the days they'd traveled he'd learned and become familiar with the sky, and boat or no, he was certain that if he needed to, he could wayfind his way across this strange land. It wasn't any different from home. It seemed to be the only similarity.

At least until now.

The wind howled and thunder boomed through his chest. Lightning cracked to the left and right of him, blinding him, but with the Wind Waker and tiller in one hand and the sail in the other he was bold. This great desert that had threatened to consume him was an ocean in its own way, a dry ocean.

And Wind knew how to navigate oceans, even their most treacherous waters.

"Hold on!" he yelled, sensing the change before it came, and relentlessly he steered them toward the summit of a dune. The white of his baton flashed in the darkness and the speed they'd had increased again, catching the sail. Wild shouted in panic, but Wind ignored him in favor of the compass he’d fastened to the mast as he counted seconds and judged distance. He was going purely off his memory of the map. He had to get this right. Timing was everything.

The sand boat launched into the air and the sail caught his wind, hurling them forward and through the sandstorm until they landed again with a softness so subtle it was lost by the next crack of lightning. He glanced upward at the sky where the wind, _his_ wind, cut through the storm and sliced a narrow path for him to follow and see. They'd humored him when he'd asked that they wait until dark. He'd seen their doubt. He knew the way Wild looked at him, like he couldn't possibly do this, couldn't possibly know anything about surviving the desert.

Well, it was true. He didn't know anything about surviving a desert. But this wasn't a desert to him right now, and he had no doubts about his abilities.

The only doubt he had right now was if he’d be able to get Wild to the Divine Beast.

"How do we find Naboris?" he yelled, manipulating the rudder with violent motions to avoid the abrupt presence of stones in the sand as he would avoid bombs in the water. "Wild!"

"The lightning," this world's hero called out, voice almost stolen by the storm. He clung to the mast, little more than a cloaked figure in the darkness. "It's where the lightning is strongest!"

Well, he had asked, and although Wind knew he should be surprised, he really wasn't. In fact, he was already headed toward the center of the storm, the place the wind circled, and he'd done it without a thought or hesitation. He should be terrified by all of this. Once again, he could die.

Instead he felt no fear, only determination. Wind felt sure and capable, his way known.

He hadn't felt this way since he'd defeated his Ganondorf.

Lightning deafened his thoughts and he shouted as he threw all of his weight into correcting the sail. An errant gale was fighting him. It was harder to control his wind when there was _so much_ of it attempting to confuse and blind him. Make him lose control and lose his way. Sand burned his skin, his eyes ran thick with tears and his hands were red hot from the rough ropes but he refused to give.

"I am the Hero of the Wind," he snarled to himself, gripping the Wind Waker tighter, mind razor-sharp and determined. "Now, show me the way!"

Lighting flashed in retaliation but his wind was true and loyal. In the distance a massive, looming figure was outlined behind a cloud of sand. Steady rumbling made the shifting sands below them vibrate and now there was a new sound in the air.

It sounded like a terrible animal moan.

"There!" Wild shouted, pointing. "That's Vah Naboris!"

The sand boat all but flew under Wind's guidance, his wind once again slicing a path toward the Divine Beast. The lightning was thicker, too thick. It was all he could do to avoid it.

"I'm not going to be able to stop," he told Wild. They were close now. They'd be racing between the Beast's legs and if they missed not only were they risking death, but Wind would have to navigate the storm again to get back. It would take time, and he couldn’t promise they would be as lucky as they were now. "You've got to be ready!"

"I'm ready!"

This close it was hard to believe this massive thing was real. Hard to believe _anyone_ could possibly climb inside and control it as Wild promised he could. The doubt was almost enough to make him twitch the sail away. They could figure something else out.

But he knew the look in Wild's eyes. He had it too. Eyes meant to face the storm. Fearless and determined.

Those eyes flicked toward him at the last moment.

"What about you—?"

"I'll be fine," Wind yelled. "Now go!"

With a flick of the Wind Waker, a powerful gust heaved Wild into the air, throwing him and his glider right at the stone monster. He wished he could have watched the other him land to make sure he was safe, but the sandstorm was fighting him again and he needed to get going. There was a reason why they were both here, after all. He had to trust that Wild could do what he needed to do on that massive monster.

Wind had his own mission.

Keeping in mind his location on his mental map, the wind paved the way and cleared the sky just enough for him to make out the strongest stars. Wind threw himself at the tiller, turning hard while keeping tight hold of his sail as he adjusted course and headed toward the Southern Fairy Fountain.

* * *

**Wild**

As it had been the last time he'd fought to soothe Naboris, the moment he entered its belly the world outside went silent. It was as if there was no storm threatening the Gerudo Desert. No hail of lightning threatening to kill him. Within, there was a steady, persistent peace. It had threatened to lead him into a false sense of security the last time he was here, but this time he was prepared. Already he was considering the puzzle of this Divine Beast, the ways he would need to manipulate it to activate the central unit and regain control.

But he realized he wouldn't have to do any of that at all, not this time. Each terminal was pure and bright. What was driving the Divine Beast insane was the figure at its central terminal. They stood there, dark and imposing, hands radiating energy that sparked and flashed. Wild had no doubt what this was.

The hollow.

"So," the hollow said, and to Wild's internalized horror he watched as it turned and reflected himself. A dark-self, just as Time had promised it would be. "You finally got here. Though, let's be honest. It was all because of that boy that you made it at all.” It snorted at him. “You'd never have made it on your own."

He recalled what Time and Kid and Twilight had told the rest of them about facing these dark versions of themselves. The creatures would know all of their fears and weaknesses. Embody all of their strengths.

"The key," Time told them, "is to trust yourself. There can be no doubt because it _will_ use that to its advantage. You must strengthen your heart. Each blow must be sure. You must overwhelm them."

"That, and they don't know everything. They can't do everything you can do," Kid had added. "Your unique abilities are yours to control, so use them to your advantage. Just don't let it start talking."

Wild had already let it start talking.

He waited for his dark-self to make a move, but it did nothing more than lean a hip against the console, smirking at him with a gaze he knew would leave him with nightmares. It was almost as if that alone was all it needed to torment him with. The hollow radiated confidence. He could tell with just a look that it was so _sure._

It wasn't surprising really. Wild had failed so often that he'd have to be dumber than a rock not to know that his weak point was his own confidence. Wild's chest ached at all of the failure littered in his past. The failure that had led him right back here.

"They shouldn't have sent you, you know," it said in the same smooth voice he owned, only colder and crueler. "I mean, of course you know. How couldn't you? And it wouldn't matter if it had been any of the other hollows. It would have been the same. The others, they'll succeed, you know that. They’re all tried and true heroes. Even that little brat that came with you will succeed. But six of seven isn't enough. Ganondorf will still win. He will still rule.” It leaned forward, its smile pure and sinister. “And it will once again be all _your_ fault."

In a strange, detached way, listening to this other him speak aloud every dark thought and doubt he kept locked at the center of his soul felt almost ... surreal. Wild knew all of these things about himself. He'd known them viscerally since the moment Ganondorf had revived right in front of him, taking Hyrule as easily as if he'd plucked a particularly lovely flower. But hearing them from a shadowed version himself? Now that was strange.

As Wild finally approached the terminal, he couldn't help but think it was almost ... funny.

And then he knew the way forward.

"Is that all you have to say to me?" Wild asked frankly, arching an eyebrow as his shoulders relaxed. "It's not exactly anything revolutionary."

It was small, but it was there. The shadow-him's face twitched. "So you admit it, then. That all of this is for nothing because you are the—"

"Weak link?" Wild finished, amusing himself with the unintentional pun. Somehow it even made this a little easier. "Again, not telling me anything I didn't know. I thought you were supposed to be terrorizing me."

This time the dark-him shifted off the console, a small frown pulling the edge of his lips down. "You want to be terrorized?"

"Well," he said with a shrug, even as he fingered the pommel of his sword. "That's kind of why I came here in the first place, isn't it?"

"I know what you're going to do. What you're trying to do," the dark-him hissed. "It won't work."

"Maybe not," Wild said, oddly relaxed. "But I won't have time to think about it here soon."

That said he drew his blade. It sang as it left its sheath, but as he'd expected his shadow matched him. It didn't matter though. Action always brought out the best in him. Thinking brought him down, and right now he needed _not_ to think. Every time he saw the shadow-him open his mouth, he hammered viciously. Kid had said not to let the thing speak, and Kid had given some good advice.

After all the failure, it was relieving to let out some of his frustrations, no matter what happened in the end. Just shamelessly attacking, the outcome _be damned_. Especially when the thing he fought wore his own face.

And before long, his sword was through the shadow-him. The fight was over. It gasped, snarling, and now Wild gave it time to speak.

"But how—!"

"I told you earlier," Wild said simply. "You didn't tell me a thing I didn't already know. And how can I be more terrified of the truth than I already am? That, and I wasn't going to let you keep speaking when I could just fight you."

The hollow screamed in frustration but then flickered and exploded outward into nothing, and with it the heavy power which had driven Vah Naboris mad dissipated. The Divine Beast slowed to a stop. The energy flowing through it lessened.

Outside, Wild could see the lightning lessen until there was none at all. Everything was still. Wild sheathed his sword.

"That was easier than I thought it would be."

Naboris moaned as if in relief, and it struck him suddenly that he'd _done_ it. Sure, it hadn't been Ganondorf, but it _had_ been a win, and in doing so he'd proved the hollow wrong. One of seven hollows had been defeated. The start of Ganondorf's fall had begun, and he'd done his part. He'd _done_ it.

The sky had once again cleared now that Naboris was soothed and a warm dawn was on the horizon, no hint of a cloud in sight. After so much sand and storm, it was a welcome sight. He had taken back a part of Hyrule from the clutches of Ganondorf. Against all odds, they were once again a step closer to success.

Still, as he looked further south he saw there was one place that wasn't as clear as the rest of the desert. Darkness gathered over it, not like a thundercloud but like night. That was where the Fairy Fountain was. That was where Wind would be and where he would face his hollow.

Wild didn't think. Instead he glided down from Naboris's tall form and quickly found a sand seal. In no time he was being pulled along on his shield, intent on getting to the darkness and helping the youngest of them before anything happened to Wind.

* * *

**Wind**

The first thing that struck Wind was just how quiet it was. The further he'd traveled from Naboris, the quieter it had gotten as if the sandstorm had centered itself on the ancient machine and most of the inhabited desert but no further. He wished that made him feel better. It _should_ have made him feel better.

But sudden stillness in the waters of his Great Sea had _never_ boded well for him in the past, and he didn't think they would here either.

Regardless of all the nerves jumping in him, he persisted, driving the sand boat on and on, staying on track with the map in his mind. There in the distance he saw the shape Wild had told him about and how the Fairy Fountain was under it. Once he was near enough to walk, he let the wind die and tucked away his Wind Waker before drawing his sword instead. He needed to be ready. After everything Kid and the others had told him, the last thing he wanted to do was be caught unprepared.

"Boo!"

Wind screamed, jumping and falling over in the sand, scrambling away from the short laughing figure that had managed to creep up behind him. His first inclination was to scowl because that _had_ to be Kid, even if it didn't make sense. What other boy would go out of his way to scare the crap out of him and send him half-way to Farore's kind embrace?

But before he could shout he realized it wasn't Kid. When the other child stood upright, it was none other than himself, dark and grinning and filled with glee.

"You are too easy," the other-him chuckled. "Oh, Din, I could scare you to death couldn't I?" A sword manifested in his hand out of the darkness, sharp and real. "But I think it would be more fun this way."

Wind reacted quickly, his days as the Hero of the Wind only a few weeks old so his reflexes were still sharp. The blade swiped where his neck would have been and Wind rolled to the side. Sand clung to him and his eyes hardened while he waited for the next attack.

"Do they know that you don't _want_ to do this?" the other boy asked, spreading his arms. "You're done playing the hero. You just want to be _normal_. You know, you don't have to fight with them. You don't have to be a hero again. There _are_ other ways to go home.” The hollow smirked knowingly. “They're all just lying."

"You're the one that's lying," he said, even as a tiny part of his heart squeezed. There _was_ a part of him that didn't want to do this anymore. He meant it when he said he was done being the hero, but if that was the case why was he doing this _now_? He _could_ run away. His sister was safe. His island was safe. His world was safe. If he didn’t do this, if he found another way home, he could have a normal life.

But that wasn't what burned through his blood.

Their blades crossed and the not-him grinned. "I'm not lying. How could I lie? I'm you. I'm only telling you exactly what's in your own head. You _don't_ want to do this anymore. Go ahead and _be_ normal."

"Hard to do that when I'm in another world!" Wind threw himself forward, sweeping out a leg and watched the shadow fall. Before he could stab through it, the manifestation rolled to the side and toward a massive flower which could only be the Fairy Fountain. Wind chased the shadow. He needed to do this. He _had_ to do this.

"No, you don't," the other taunted. "Why in the _world_ would you want to, when it will only lead you to your own death?"

"Because it's the right thing to do!" Wind ran on feet lighter than air, his sword ready. "And because for the first time since Aryll was kidnapped, I get to choose!"

Wind screamed, leaped into the air, and when his sword came down it came down through the shadow of himself to sink deep in the sand.

His shadow snarled. "You don't get to choose _anything_."

And then it vanished.

His legs wobbled and Wind collapsed to the ground. His chest heaved, his muscles ached, and all the while everything they'd said played through his mind. He didn't know why he'd said what he'd said to the hollow about choice, only that what he’d said had rung true in a way. The words they’d said had been real.

And a part of him despaired because … what did that mean?

What did he _mean_?

"Wind!"

A voice called out over the pound of his blood in his ears, and he was both surprised and relieved to see that it was Wild. The older hero all but slid in the sand toward him, catching him by the shoulders.

"Are you okay?" he demanded, eyes wide and face tense. "Your hollow—?"

"I beat him," Wind said with half a laugh before he got a little bashful. "Just barely, but I did it. You?"

"Yeah, I freed Naboris."

"And you've freed me, my little darling!" the Great Fairy said, sweeping Wind up to press her massive lips against his cheek. Immediately he felt his energy return to him, his strength restored as pink fairies caressed his skin before moving to circle Wild to do the same. "Is there anything I could possibly do for you? Improve your armor perhaps?"

"No, no, thank you just-can you put me down?" He was flustered by the attention the big, beautiful fairy was giving him, but more than that, he couldn't breathe. She smiled at him but did as he asked, and after catching his breath he gave her a smile.

"Well, if you change your mind, little hero," she said, giving him a wink before giving one to Wild as well. "Nice seeing you again, dear. You've done well. Keep it up."

She vanished downward with a splash and Wind was so surprised he found himself gaping. He'd never seen a Great Fairy like her before.

"Wow," he said.

"Yeah, Tera’s something else. They all are." Wild looked at him and smiled. "Wind, we did it."

"I know," Wind said, still astonished. "I _know!_ We did it!"

"The way you sailed through that storm!” Wild suddenly said as if everything that had happened was finally hitting him, and it was all just bursting out now that their fights were over. “If I _ever_ need to ride a boat with anyone, ever in my life, you are who I choose. I've never seen anyone sail like you have, on the sand or in the water.” He grinned. “You're amazing, Wind. I understand why you're the Hero of the Wind."

Wind couldn't help the pleasure and satisfaction that welled up in him. He'd done it. He’d been the Hero of the Wind again. There had been nothing normal about what he'd done, and although it had been hard, he'd done it anyway.

He'd done it.

"Come on," Wild said, calming down, and Wind thought that some of that dark weight Wild seemed to carry had lifted. "Let's hurry and meet up with the others. Hopefully they're doing as well as we have."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aww look at Wind being a little badass, and Wild making it too. It'll be fun to see how the next team does :]
> 
> Till Thursday!


	8. Team Medoh

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy!

**Sky**

Sky was nervous, but he refused to show it with Shade riding behind him as his loftwing flew closer to the Western Fairy Fountain and the Divine Beast, Vah Medoh.

He hadn't liked the plan, although he had to admit it made sense. Well, maybe it was better to say he hadn't exactly like that _he_ was saddled with their leader, Shade. He'd much rather have teamed with Time, who he liked and connected well with. Frankly, he’d have taken any of the others too. But Shade was ... well ....

The older hero pointed toward the ground where a large clearing had come into view. "Drop me off there, then carry on with your assignment. I'll meet you at the Serenne Stables when you're done."

"Do you want any help—"

"No."

Shade was ... intimidating.

Sky understood _why_ they were paired up together, or at least, why he was the one facing Medoh. It flew. He flew. When he realized that the thing in the air he could see in the distance all the way from the Great Plateau _was_ Vah Medoh, he'd known that was where he’d be assigned. But Shade hadn't had to go with him. Hell, he'd have even preferred that quiet and intense Twilight. At least they were more likely to have something in common, though how Twilight and Shade got along like they did was the real mystery to him.

But Shade was the leader, and he'd decided to go with Sky to liberate the Western Fairy Fountain.

With a gentle touch, his loftwing glided downward, her strong wings beating the sky into submission. Soon enough they were back on the ground, and Shade slid down, his actions careful so as not to pull any feathers. They had a plan. If Sky needed help, he'd send his loftwing after Shade. In the event Shade required assistance ....

"I won't need it," he'd replied when Sky had asked.

It hadn't reassured Sky in the least. As a matter of fact, it had annoyed him because they were supposed to be a team, but he supposed if any of them could handle a hollow on their own, it was Shade. The old hero certainly seemed coarse enough to give anything a hard time.

Still, when Sky was ready to fly away and leave Shade to his work, he told him good luck.

To his surprise, Shade gave him a smile. "Good luck to you as well."

Sky would have thought that time spent traveling and flying with the other man over the last few days would have helped him understand Shade better, but it hadn’t. The smile was genuine and unexpected. Unsure how to react, he decided the best way to handle it was with a quick getaway, and soon enough Sky and his loftwing were in the air again, rising fast and high to meet up with Teba, who had gone ahead and was already waiting for him. The Rito would lead him toward the safest approach to Vah Medoh, distracting the Divine Beast long enough for Sky to disable its cannons and land to defeat the hollow there.

As horrible as the situation was and as much as he didn’t want to be here, he had to admit that this world had some true beauties. His world was lovelier, he would never budge on that, but the Rito were a beautiful people. He was glad to meet up with Teba because they got along and it had largely been the Rito’s presence which had made the journey here bearable. The warrior of the Rito was already circling overhead, waiting for him, and once they were close enough he leveled out on a path directly toward the strange machine.

It rested above the Rito Village, and for a moment Sky could almost pretend it was nothing more than a fixture. A guardian. But that didn't account for the stillness that seemed to pervade the air, nor did it lend a peaceful answer to all of the craters which dotted the ground, cruel cannon fire meant to contain and kill.

It was horrible to see.

They rose higher and higher, the wind harsh and biting, and soon he knew it was time. Teba's golden eyes flashed his way.

"Are you ready, Sky?"

"Lead the way," he shouted to Teba. "We'll be right behind you. I'll provide aerial support."

The Rito nodded, his white feathers glinting in the bright light before he banked. The icy wind tore at Sky's face, but this wasn't any different from home. If anything, it felt refreshing. Familiar. Since arriving in this world, here, now, in the sky with his loftwing about to do battle, he felt more himself. More real and in control.

Both he and Teba dived.

Teba and Wild had coached him about this days ago before Wild had left with Wind, so he was prepared with his arrows the moment the cannons began firing. They'd told him to beware of the updrafts and to move as quickly as he could. But Teba and Wild must have been better adept at managing this sky than he’d thought because he'd only encountered winds of this strength once or twice back at home. The closer they got to the Divine Beast the worse the winds grew. Medoh's scream filled the air, deafening and heart-stopping. He'd never heard anything like that before, and between the gale and the cannons, Sky was growing concerned.

"It wasn't like this before!" Teba yelled over the wind as he dipped and dove up ahead. "It's worse!"

Sky didn't know if he was comforted or not by the fact, but he didn't focus too hard on it, not when he was busy scanning the creature. It was big, bird-shaped, unlike anything he'd ever seen. But within the gale he thought he saw something, an opening. A place, if he was careful, that he could possibly land.

He had an idea.

"Teba," he called. "I need you and my loftwing to distract Medoh's nearest cannons. I'm going to land on it while you do. Can you do that?"

"That's dangerous, Sky," Teba warned as he spiraled above to avoid a blast. "If you miss, you could die."

"I won't miss. Did this loads of times back at home," Sky replied, tightening all of his gear and readying his sailcloth. He dug his fingers into his crimson loftwing's feathers. "Ready, girl?"

The loftwing crowed. They were ready.

"Good luck!" Teba shouted, though Sky hardly heard it. He was focused.

It was time to go.

Springing into the air using the momentum his loftwing provided before she veered off to the side to let the cannon target her, he began falling. Sky’s ears burned, his eyes watered, but within he felt warm and steady, judging the distance between himself and the Beast. The plan was working, the cannons were focused on the Rito and his loftwing. He opened his sailcloth, eyes locked on his landing target. The wind tore at him, threatened to take him off course, but he was fast and manipulated the fabric to stay on course. Almost there. _Almost there_.

Medoh banked.

Panic rose thick in his chest and Sky reacted immediately before the Beast was out of position. He was close and so he let the air out of his sailcloth, allowing his decent to increase in speed again, falling fast. It was going to be a rough landing, but it wouldn't be the first he'd endured. He knew how to land. He just needed to make sure he landed at all.

Sky yelled and let muscle memory pull him through the lifesaving roll that dissipated the majority of the energy he'd gained with the fall, and both luckily and unluckily the Divine Beast had banked again, helping him roll while also threatening to let him roll right off of it if he wasn't careful. Blindly he felt grass and stone under his hands, and he grunted as he caught on and held tight with all he had. If he let go he'd fall off, and he was not going to risk doing this again. He didn't think he'd get lucky a second time.

His fingers caught hold on something, and screeching he came to a sudden, jarring stop. His chest heaved, his arms screamed, his legs ached from the landing but it didn't matter because he was here on Vah Medoh and he was alive. He'd made it, and he knew the others saw because they now veered off to safety.

It was time for him to get to work.

Bullying himself up, Sky made for the entrance of Vah Medoh at a run before the bird decided it wanted to tilt again. He'd almost stumbled twice when the wind threatened to overwhelm him, but soon he was within the creature. The sudden absence of the wind shoving against his body was jarring.

But he was in, and in contrast with the chaos outside, it was calm and peaceful here. He couldn't help how his shoulders relaxed.

"I wouldn't relax yet if I were you," a voice said from out of the darkness. "You may have gotten this far but you're not going to get further." From the shadows a figure moved, and Sky's eyes widened as he saw it was _him_ , only ... not him. A dark version of himself like Time had promised would be waiting. It stared coldly at him, and Sky glowered, raising his sword. He thought of all of Time's advice. To keep his heart and will strong. To focus, and that he _could_ beat it.

Unwilling to let the thing talk and get into his head, Sky rushed forward, his sword ready but a matching one of shadow manifested in the other's hands, catching his attack before blocking it and sending it off to the side.

"What?" it asked. "You thought it would be that easy?"

Sky ignored the shadow, changing tactics by leaping back and shooting at it with arrows. It dodged.

"I know what you're going to do before you do it. I'm you."

"You're not me," he snapped, unable to stop himself, and he knew he'd made a mistake when the shadow-him smirked.

"I am, and you know it. You want to know how I know?"

"What I want is to destroy you," Sky grunted before attacking again, letting loose a string of attack patterns that had worked so many times in the past but was not working now.

"You want to know what I know?" it said this time as it countered every form with deft ease. "You're afraid."

"I'm not afraid," Sky spat.

"You're afraid of becoming me."

It was so unexpected, so ... obscene coming from the dark-him's mouth that Sky's thoughts flew away. It was a miracle he'd managed to avoid a sword to the chest, but that was a miracle of muscle memory more than anything else. His mind was thrown into chaos. He wasn't sure he'd heard right.

"What?"

"Some hero you are," his shadow said, coming to attack again. "Able to fight monsters and demons, but you’re not as good as everyone thinks, are you? Not as kind as lighthearted as your precious Zelda believes."

"What are you talking about?" Sky demanded, lashing out with his sword and missing as the dark-him surged away.

"That temper of yours, or did you think I wouldn’t notice?" his opposite replied. "Everyone told you how this worked. You've had ample time to prepare. You even have the impressive Shade with you. Perhaps you should send for him?" The hollow’s smirk turned vicious. “Wouldn’t want to become more … furious, would you? Mean? Cruel?”

"I don't need his or anyone else's help defeating you. I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m _fine,_ " Sky said through clenched teeth. Even if a dark whisper in his heart did know. How could he not, when he was so infuriated all the time?

He launched another vicious attack, thinking of every battle he'd ever endured and won, but there was no doubt that this thing had gotten to him. His thoughts were shocked, he couldn't dig as deep as he needed to in order to succeed. His heart was starting to weaken, and it was all because it had said something he'd been desperately ignoring. He wanted to go home. He wanted to be with Zelda and his unborn child.

But he’d never been an angry person, never in all his life, and now it seemed like all he could do was drown in it. It didn’t stop. It made him say unkind things and kept eating him alive.

What if this was who he was, deep down? What if he brought it home with him? What if this newfound anger and resentment turned on his family if he got home?

"The truth," his shadow sneered. "Is that you're terrified that this rage has been in you all along, and that Zelda will see that. That you might take it out on her. On them. That you’ll be cruel, and hurt them once all of this is over, if you make it home at all. The thought terrifies you. Weakens you." Its lips curled up cruelly. "You needn't worry though. You're weak enough as it is. You won’t actually make it home, so all of your fears are unfounded. Rest assured, they’ll never know how monstrous you really are."

Sky screamed, fury, fear, panic, shame all warring within his chest and driving the action he depended desperately on. It fueled his muscles, caused him to swing faster, drive deeper, move quicker and soon all that mattered was that the shadow was on the defensive, struggling to keep up. Sky refused to let himself think. If he thought he'd lose his advantage, and he'd be _damned_ to come this far and fail. The shadow was lying. The shadow wasn't lying.

The horror that he didn't know which was true was all it took for him to finally slice through the shadow without hesitation or mercy. It screamed and in a rush of harsh wind, dispelled into nothing.

It was done. The fight was over.

Sky collapsed to his knees, chest heaving with exertion but the deed was done. He'd defeated his assigned hollow. It didn't matter that he'd struggled, no one had been around to see it. It didn't matter that those words echoed within his skull like a bad note because no one else would ever know what his failings were. He'd succeeded. He'd _succeeded._

But why did it feel like that was the last thing he'd done?

The Divine Beast crowed around him with its new freedom, but he hardly heard it. The temple was as quiet as could be with him as the sole occupant. As much as the silence was a balm to his ears and body, it only made his thoughts clearer. Louder and more precise.

If it had been this horrible for him, what was it like for everyone else?

At the thought of them, he clenched his teeth and forced himself to breathe. He didn't want the others to know how this fight had gone. That was the last thing in the world he wanted. He didn't want them to know any of his personal life, even if his personal life was what was driving him to get back _right now_. He felt torn between what he wanted most and what he feared. The others in comparison – at least from what he'd learned about them – appeared to have no such contention.

Sky couldn't let any of them know.

He shoved his thoughts from his mind. He'd defeated Medoh's hollow, and he was sure that Shade had defeated the one at the Fairy Fountain by now. They had places to be, and although the older hero was daunting, he decided he'd rather face the man than his own, desperate thoughts.

Exiting Medoh, he saw that his faithful loftwing was already waiting for him, standing on strong legs in the grass. He couldn’t help but smile at the sight of her, relieved for something familiar and normal, and after mounting they sprang from the Divine Beast and dove, heading toward their meeting point.

* * *

**Shade**

Shade saw the hollow lingering in front of the Fairy Fountain. It was dark and tall, dressed exactly like him. The old hero felt nothing. He didn't hesitate.

One moment he hadn't been there, the next Shade’s sword was through the shadow. Its eyes had widened just a fraction before the damned thing had done the only thing it _could_ do before it faded.

It smiled with relief.

"Foul creature," Shade grunted when the shadow had vanished and life once again returned to the craggy area. He sheathed his sword and glanced up when he heard water, a laugh, and saw the largest Great Fairy he'd ever seen.

"Thank you, ancient hero," she said with a smile as she leaned forward to look him over. Her bright eyes sparkled, then faded ever so slightly. "Usually I'd offer to help you in some way for rescuing me as you have, but there's nothing I can do for you."

"The thought is enough," Shade replied with a kind smile. "The safety of this world is enough."

"Is it, old soul?" she asked, brow furrowing ever so slightly. Shade didn't respond, only turned away and began moving downward. It didn't matter what he wanted. She couldn't offer him what he wanted. No one could.

Several steps later and out of sight of the Fairy Fountain, the world went unnaturally quiet and he knew he was not alone.

"You're special, aren't you?"

Shade gripped his sword, ready for a confrontation, but there was nothing in front of him. Nothing around him. Nothing except for a shadowy projection, it seemed, insubstantial yet present all the same just at the edge of the cliff. Whoever had cast it was large in stature, muscular yet draped in the soft edges of clothing with a blaze of hair slipping low down his spine.

Gold eyes stared out at him with a gaze Shade had grown sensitive to since the moment they’d been summoned as it peered out from Hyrule Castle, strangely locked on him. He knew who it was.

"Ganondorf," he growled, lowering his sword since neither could harm each other with something as insubstantial as a shadow projection. "What do you want?"

"My, you're straight to the point, aren't you?"

The shadow projection with the golden eyes moved forward, walking at a leisurely pace. But unlike every other Ganondorf Shade had seen, this one didn't stomp like a boar on the rampage. He was muscular, there was no doubting that if only from the shape of the projection, but when this Ganondorf moved he did it with grace. This Ganondorf strolled.

And Shade tried not to notice.

"I won't ask again,” Shade said. “What do you want?"

"You can't hurt me in this form any more than I can hurt you,” Ganondorf said, amused. “You must know that."

Shade glowered with his good eye then lifted his left hand, focusing on the power within him. Light gathered in his palm. "Then you should know that I can destroy this projection."

"But you won't," Ganondorf said. "Not yet, at least. If I had to guess, you want information."

"And you're going to give it?"

A flash of white teeth. A smile. It was strangely sultry, and again Shade attempted not to notice.

"There are seven of you here. The princess performed some powerful, desperate magic.” The projection smirked indulgently. “I suppose I can admit it's impressive."

"And you're watching the others as well?" A cool chill curled around his undead heart. There were heroes here he cared for more than others, that was the simple truth. It was hard not to when some were so ... connected to him. Shade didn't want to test his theory, but he sensed that if he did, he'd find exactly what he expected.

And it was the last thing he wanted someone like Ganondorf to ever find out.

"Of course," Ganondorf replied with a small shrug. "But none of them have noticed me, and they shouldn't.” Golden eyes stared at him. “Yet somehow you do."

"You're the one who spoke."

"You can feel me watching."

"Why are you here?" The question swelled out of him almost without his permission. He was irritated. It was almost as if Ganondorf was bothering him simply to pass time. To ... chat.

"To chat," the Gerudo replied easily, that slip of a smile bright against the dark light of the projection. "And to see the leader of Farore's Chosen." Shade was sure he was imagining the interest in those golden eyes when Ganondorf said, "I'm glad I did."

Shade glared. "You're wasting my time."

"Time is all I have," the Gerudo said as Shade's hand tore through the projection, dispelling it. "I look forward to meeting you properly, Hero."

A deep, amused, taunting laugh filled the air, and suddenly the projection was gone. The sky was clear and fresh. The sound of the world returned as if nothing had happened at all.

If he'd been younger, Shade might have yelled into the empty air. Might have rushed across the plains toward the castle to confront the old enemy of this world without a thought or care to the consequences. If he'd been alive – properly alive, it might have all meant something.

And although there was still a well of unfathomable rage after everything his fight with the Ganondorf of his world had done to change and curse his life – even ten thousand years later – what he found was that he was more curious than anything. This Ganondorf was as old as he was. Had been as dead as he, it seemed.

What Shade wanted, he realized, was to know more.

"I'm too old for this," he sighed before following the trail down to the road. He hadn't missed the diffusion of power from high above. Sky had succeeded. It was time that they met up with Wild and Wind so they could begin their journey toward the Korok Forest to defeat the final hollow.

And the sooner the better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next post Monday.


	9. Team Ruta, Eastern Fairy Fountain, and Rudania

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long chapter, enjoy!

**Kid**

Although he knew the others were struggling with this world, Kid was having the time of his life.

"Wow, really?" he said, wide-eyed as he stared up at the massive red Zora prince they'd met mid-way on his team's journey. "You were _eaten_ by one?"

"Yes, it was most disconcerting. But even in the dark, I did not despair. I used my silverscale sword to cut my way out and kill the monster. Next to healing Vah Ruta," Prince Sidon said, "it is a feat of which I'm most proud."

"I've never been eaten by anything," Kid said with a grin. "At least, nothing that wasn't a Deku flower. But they spit you back out again, so I don't think it counts since they don’t really eat you. The Deku Scrubs like to use them as homes after all."

"A Deku Scrub?" the Zora asked curiously. "What is that?"

"A wooden terror," Time said mildly as he stoked the fire. "I've battled many of them."

Kid made a face as he thought of all the Deku Scrubs he knew. How he could become one whenever he wanted. "They're not so bad. I mean, some of them are rude, sure, but they can also be a lot of fun, actually."

"Then you and I have had exceedingly different experiences with them," Time replied. "But I will admit that once they are shown the way, they make rather useful merchants."

"I've never seen a Deku Scrub," Twilight said as he tucked away the items he’d been sharpening and inventorying as he’d listened to the conversation. "I don't think they exist in my world either."

"Then what sort of people do exist in your world?" Kid asked, genuinely curious. In their travels together, Kid had found out that Twilight was one of those understated kinds of people who liked to play things cooler than they were. More than a few times Kid had caught Twilight saying an off-handed comment that was way more interesting than he was letting on. It made Kid want to dig deeper and draw the quiet hero into as many conversations as he could. He wanted to know more about Twilight. There was something about him.

Twilight was just so … interesting.

Twilight shrugged with a small smile.

"Nothing too different, I think. Zora and Goron. Oocca. Twili."

"I've never heard of those last two," Kid said immediately, and Time and Sidon agreed. "What're they like?"

"The Oocca are strange and difficult to describe, but wise. The Twili ..." Twilight paused, eyes softening. "They're a beautiful race. Misunderstood and powerful, but also incredible. A bit monochromatic though."

"Well I'd like to meet both of them," Kid proclaimed. And he would. He _literally_ wanted to see everything. There was no point not to when he was thrown around by fate as much as he was.

"I enjoy your spirit, Kid," Sidon said with an easy grin. "Fearless and brave. I pray you will keep it when we face Vah Ruta."

"I'm not worried," Kid said as he tore into the last of his breakfast with vigor. He was the first to go on his way now that they were at the entrance to the pass leading to Zora’s Domain. According to Gramps's great plan, he, Twilight and Time would make their way upward along the main road, dropping each of them off at their respective destinations and the hollows they each would face. “I just want to get started.”

“Then let’s be off,” the Zora agreed.

Finishing up, he and Prince Sidon wished the others luck and promised Twilight he’d meet up with him on the way to pick up Time. In no time they were consumed by the rain as they entered the pass, the sky darkening in a way that made Kid frown. He’d been in some intense storms before, but the way the land they were in right now was drenched and semi-flooded, how his boots were already sopping and soaked through couldn’t be good.

“I know you said it was bad,” Kid said to Prince Sidon. “But I didn’t realize you meant this.”

"It’s worse than it’s ever been,” Sidon agreed soberly. “We might not make it to Vah Ruta in the time we think." They peered ahead at the rain-soaked path. Even from here they could see scores of bokoblins and lizalfos and moblins just waiting for someone to get close. Lightning shone on arrows primed to shock, and even Kid winced at the thought of making his way upward through them. Sidon sighed. "Taking the trail will take a considerable amount of time. I can only pray you are prepared, because there will be little I can do to help you on the way."

Kid frowned at the path before his eyes caught the river. He’d thought Sidon would be taking the land path as well, but it struck him then that it was entirely possible his companion meant to swim to the Domain. The prince was a Zora after all. And if Prince Sidon could do it, why couldn’t he?

Kid couldn’t help but grin mischievously. He loved this part.

"Why don't we just take the water?"

Prince Sidon stared, his golden eyes dancing from him to the river then back as if Kid hadn't noticed the obvious.

"While I appreciate your confidence in me, Kid, the way by water is impassible for anyone except a Zora. There are waterfalls we must swim up, and most of the journey would have to be made underwater to avoid the lightning arrows. While you're correct that it is faster to swim to the Domain, a Hylian simply cannot manage, even upon the back of a Zora."

"No problem then," Kid said, reaching into his bag, blindly searching by touch for the right one. He pulled out the Zora Mask. "Hold on a second. This won't take long."

"Kid, what are you—?"

The Zora Prince's words faded away as Kid placed the mask on his face and let the power contained within it rage through him, the agony of transformation electric. He grew taller, his skin more aquatic and streamlined. Gills opened, his eyes changed, and soon he was a Zora himself. As Sidon gaped, Kid began stretching as he worked off the lingering edges of transformation-pain and prepared his muscles. The last time he hadn't stretched and went for a strenuous swim as a Zora, he'd pulled something and he did _not_ want that to happen again.

"All right," he said in a voice that was different from his usual form. Deeper, smoother, Mikau’s. "Ready when you are."

"You're a Zora," Prince Sidon breathed in astonishment, approaching him, circling him, blatantly touching his shoulder and fins as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing and had to make sure it was real. "Is this really you, Kid? This is impossible!"

Kid shrugged and gave his familiar grin. "I travel a lot. Come across things here and there that’ve helped make it all easier. I think all of us Links have something special like this.” He shrugged. “The ability to change is mine, I guess."

"Unbelievable," Prince Sidon said before a brilliant smile spread across his face. Enthusiasm roared through the other Zora. "Then you are right, my young friend! The river path it is. You've truly amazed me." His toothy smile turned challenging. "But let us see if you can keep up."

"Oh, I can keep up," Kid replied, challenge accepted. They slipped into the water. It took a moment for him to get used to using his gills once he'd submerged – it was the worst thing about the mask – but once he’d adjusted, he followed the bulky red blur in the water and did as he'd promised, and kept up.

* * *

They arrived in Zora's Domain not long after feeling energized and a bit out of breath by the brisk race, but they didn't get long to enjoy it as they pulled themselves up onto the mostly submerged walkway leading toward the Prince's palace.

"It's not usually like this," Sidon said, mood darkening as he stared up at the sky and the unending rain that fell upon them. "This is worse than the last time Vah Ruta raged." He turned to him, eyes desperate. "Kid, we _must_ defeat the hollow and stop this before the reservoir is overwhelmed and a flood destroys the Domain and everything downland. Are you ready?"

"I'm always ready," Kid said, a serious tone filling his voice as he realized how bad the situation here really was.

He followed Sidon up to the reservoir, and for the first time he saw what this Vah Ruta Divine Beast was. If this wasn't such a horrible situation, he'd have admired the ... thing? Creature? He wasn't entirely sure what it was exactly, but it was magnificent. As beautiful as so many other creations he'd seen in so many other worlds.

After advising him on what to do, Kid and Sidon moved quickly to get past Ruta's defenses and between his and the Prince's strength, Kid catapulted himself as high as he could. High enough to land on the platform that would lead to the center of Vah Ruta and the hollow within.

"Be careful, Kid!" Sidon shouted over the rain and the scream of Ruta. "Good luck! May the goddess be with you!"

Kid was already moving inside and out of the rain, gazing around curiously. It was quiet here, which was something he hadn't expected, and there weren't any monsters either, which was just as surprising. He moved further in, his danger instincts rising.

"Now if I were a big, ugly, dark-me,” he muttered to himself. “Where would I be?"

"Right behind you."

Kid's reflexes saved him as he flipped away, lifting his fins and taking aim, but a dark blur was all he saw before a small foot kicked the center of his chest and sent him sprawling back into a massive room with a large terminal at the end.

"That was dirty," Kid growled.

The shadow of him shaped as his Hylian self snorted. "You're the last one to talk." The hollow dodged Kid's ranged fin attack and rolled impossible eyes. "It's going to take a lot more than _that_ to get to me. You know that. But then again, you've been pretty reliant on the masks lately, haven't you."

A bolt of emotion too close to panic and shame flashed through Kid, and he bared his teeth.

"Don't know what you're talking about."

Kid launched himself at the shadow boy, using his height and speed to his advantage as best he could. If he could get close enough he could unleash his electric barrier, and that would be all he'd need to take the hollow out.

"Not going to work!" the hollow said, singsong. "I know all of your strengths and weaknesses. I know all of your plans. You can't trick me."

It shot an arrow at him, multiple arrows, and Kid switched to defense. There was little to hide behind, though, and the hollow was blocking the entrance. If the water weren't a problem he could switch to his Goron form with its stronger defense, but like as a Zora he wouldn’t be able to reach his weapons.

He had to change.

Finding an opening, Kid once again launched his fins, and in the space of time tore the mask off. His perspective warped and the pain was back, but he'd done this so many times that he already accounted for the change. He took it in stride and knew how to move even as his body stabilized itself in its usual form.

Finding direction in action, Kid swung his sword and met the other boy’s and proceeded to unload everything he had onto him. But every attack was perfectly countered, a mirror of each action that wasn't necessarily surprising but definitely infuriating.

"Will you stop?" Kid snarled. "Be original, for Farore’s sake!"

"You're the one I'm copying,” the hollow snickered. “If you crave originality, you should start with yourself."

"I'm not the one mirroring," he grunted, but the comment had pushed him closer to that part of his mind that he had worked so hard to edge away from these days, and the moment he realized his thoughts were drifting there it was too late to pull back. It would be easy to stop this now, so easy. After all, he had the perfect weapon, the one that couldn't be duplicated. He could reach into his pack, pull it out, put it on, and end this in a heartbeat.

It was so tempting. As tempting as all the other times he'd put it on to take care of an irritating problem. It would feel so _good_ to put it on, to destroy this dark part of him. He wanted to do it. He _craved_ it _._

Kid’s eyes flicked down at his arm and the neat row of scars there.

"Go ahead," the hollow challenged, its face so close Kid's hair shifted with its breath. "Do it. Reach for it. I know you want to. It could end this right now, no problem. Even in this form, there's no way I have enough power to match it. You could destroy me so easily. Easier than breaking a twig."

Kid snarled as he imagined it happening, _wanted_ to do it, before forcing his hands to grip his sword as tight as he could. Tight enough to keep them right where they were. Tight enough to almost believe he wasn't tempted.

"What's one more scar?" The hollow taunted. "Who knows? Maybe this time you won't get drunk on its power? Maybe this time you won't _believe_ you're a god, and you'll let that horrible nagging sensation in your chest go. You can show everyone who you really are so they’ll _know_ all of the heroic acts you've done for all the worlds you've visited.” It snorted. “But let's be honest. That won't be the case, will it?"

"Shut up!" Kid screamed, throwing the hollow off. "You don't know anything!"

"I know _everything_ ," it countered viciously. "I know your nightmares aren't nightmares at all. That they bring you pleasure. You _liked_ it."

"Stop lying!"

It didn’t stop, not at all. "Even at the end when you were a god standing over a destroyed world, a world _you_ harmed, you’d _liked it_. And wasn’t it good luck that you’d had the Ocarina of Time back then? How else would you have fixed Falfiza and what you did?" It leaned forward, closer. “Funny how you want everyone to know all of your heroics, but you don’t mention a thing about your sins.”

Kid screamed, trying to drown out the words and managed to repel the hollow, sending it flying across the room. Unfortunately it didn’t stop it, didn’t slow it down. The hollow raced forward, so fast Kid could do little more than stumble back as a strand of fear threaded through the center of his heart. It was muscle memory that kept his sword lifted.

"You're worried that if you put it on again, if you use that incredible power _one more time_ , you won't be able to stop,” the hollow-child laughed, its voice loud and everywhere. “You'll leave it on forever and truly become the Fierce Deity. And then?" it asked as shadowed-blood slipped out of its lips. Kid's sword had pierced it deeply through its chest, but although that meant the hollow had been defeated, this didn't feel like victory. This ... this was anything but. Like it had impaled itself on purpose, and all he could do was stare at the dying shadow in horror. "And then, you'll stand over another world you've destroyed. Only you won’t be able to fix it this time. And then everyone will see the truth. That you’re no hero at all."

It fell to its knees, sliding off Kid’s blade, and before it fully faded away, it whispered, "I wonder if you'll even realize the monster you've become, trying to prove you're the great hero. That you're older than anyone knows. That you think you _know_ who you are when the truth is … you have no idea at all."

And then it was gone.

Vah Ruta dropped into a dead silence, the silence broken only by the tight heaves of Kid’s breath. Adrenaline still roared through his blood, his hands shook violently, and suddenly he felt too big for his small body, but there was no mask to fix that. There never was except _that_ mask, and as much as he wanted it, _he could not_.

"Ah!!!"

Kid's scream echoed around him as he threw his sword as hard as he could, but it was a young sound, the voice of a boy when he knew it should be deeper, older. It should be proper and mature and real but it wasn't real. He was a kid. He'd been an adult. He was Hylian, and Deku Scrub, and Goron, and Zora, and he was even a _god_ , and none of that mattered because he didn't _know_ who or what he was when he was forced to be everything else except himself _._

The hollow was right. On all accounts.

Kid screamed again, and again and again, and he did it until the rage had cooled, his throat was raw, and he couldn't stand anymore. He stumbled to the base of the terminal, collapsing there, and all the while he hated the hollow. It was dead. He'd achieved his mission and freed Vah Ruta, but this had not been a win for him. The hollow had killed itself intentionally, and Kid couldn't fight its last words now. What was there _to_ fight except himself and the guilt and shame he hid deep in his soul and behind a childish mask he’d created?

Disconcerted and feeling older than he generally let himself feel, Kid didn't leave the room, not yet. Instead he slumped bonelessly against the center terminal, eyes dark and mind darker.

He stayed that way until the angry pressure in his chest lessened and the streams down his cheeks had dried. Lessened enough that he could pretend to have that childlike gaiety and mischief he knew everyone expected out of him, even if he did not truly feel it himself.

* * *

**Twilight**

Despite how he’d thought the travel would go when his father had determined assignments, the journey went faster than he’d thought it would, at least when Kid had been around. Truthfully, he hadn’t wanted to engage the others more than he could help. His wolf-sense was sensitive to twilight, and he was trying to determine if there was a way to the Twilight Realm here. That required silence and solitude. No distractions.

Almost the moment they’d left the Great Plateau, Kid had turned out to be less the annoyance he’d expected given his ball-of-energy nature and more of an engaging, wild-hearted companion. To his utter astonishment, they got along easily, willing to keep things as light-hearted as possible despite the intense situation. Perhaps it was easiest for them than it was for the others. Everyone else was either invested in this world or trying to get home, but Kid apparently traveled a lot between worlds and Twilight was trying, more or less, to do the same. They were going to do what they needed to do to defeat Ganondorf, of course.

But they just weren’t as invested.

As he and Kid frequently found themselves chatting and drawing each other into wilder and wilder stories, he felt Time’s eyes on them and sensed with his animal instincts that the other hero disapproved. It wasn’t uncommon for Time to find companionship and conversation with the rest of the party, the Sheikah, the Zora, and the Goron. Frankly, it was fine with him. Twilight didn’t know if it was just some fundamental difference between him and Time, but the other hero was just too … stable for him. Too calm and collected. Always with a gentle and kind smile that Twilight never thought reached his eyes.

The wolf in him didn’t like it.

It meant that when Kid departed with Prince Sidon to handle Vah Ruta, there was a day of travel when it had been just him and Time. Without Kid’s engaging and lively energy to distract from the way the other man made his fur raise, he’d become reticent, letting his thoughts roam as he stared at the wild and avoided the Hero of Time. The wilderness was everywhere, a world unexplored. Miles and miles of land to run and hunt and enjoy.

More than anything now, what Twilight wanted was to slip away. To become one with the forest and the dark. To shed his Hylian form and run wild as a wolf, powerful and fierce.

"I don't think I should tell them," he'd told Shade in their shared room one night before he'd left. "Everyone is so tense, I don't think it's something they’ll understand."

"I don't disagree," Shade had replied quietly. "I've come to the same conclusion about similar matters."

Twilight understood a little. His ancestor appeared to have a great many talents, more than all of them, perhaps because of his age and experience. It was impressive and relieving to have someone so powerful on their side. Someone with so much wisdom to draw upon. Shade also could take his wolf form as well, which meant that they could communicate over large distances if they needed to. But more than that, he thought what his father truly meant was that he didn’t want the others finding out that he’d been dead before coming here. A titan somehow reborn. Twilight didn’t blame him. If he hadn’t known the truth already, it would have been unnerving to know one of them had traversed death already.

But he was good at being discreet and subtle, but it did not make the patience he clung to any easier at the moment.

His patience was rewarded, however, when they finally arrived at the split in the road he would take to reach the Fairy Fountain, and although several of the party offered to go with him, he refused. No matter the danger, he wanted to face it alone, and because of the time needed to get Time to Vah Rudania, the rest could do little more than move on toward Death Mountain.

He watched them vanish down the road as dusk settled around him, blanketing the world in cool, calm, peaceful twilight. The world went quiet around him.

Twilight breathed a sigh of pure relief.

Alone for the first time since the assignments were given, alone now that their group had split toward their individual destinations, the knot of tension that had gathered between Twilight’s shoulders eased. He'd never thought of himself as coldly anti-social, but perhaps it was true that at heart he was a bit of a lone wolf. Especially when he was near someone he didn’t particularly like, like Time.

Twilight didn't hesitate. He reached for the familiar power within him, calling his inner beast, and the change flowed over him in a familiar burning pleasure. His posture changed, his fingers and toes tightened, shortened and drew in, his muscles elongated and changed, fur covered his clothing and body. Claws appeared, great, sharp teeth filled his muzzle, and soon he was running.

Alone like this, it was as close to freedom as Twilight had come ever since he'd stopped his Ganondorf and Zant in the Twilight Realm. Where he'd moved at what felt a glacial pace upon the trotting horses, now he all but flew over the land, panting hard, pushing harder, tongue lolling out as he chased the brilliant white moon. It didn't matter to him if it wasn't exactly in the direction he was supposed to go. It was close enough. He wanted this and he thought Shade would understand. After all, of all of them, Shade had the most confidence in his abilities to tackle his hollow. He could take a little time.

The land vanished under his paws, the cool wind filtering through his fur like gentle fingers. The moon was a bright sliver leading his way, and with deft skill he moved around obstacles, countered other wolves, snacked on a rabbit, and, overcome with excitement, he howled long and loud.

He wondered if Shade had heard.

Unfortunately the problem was that there was no one to share his joy with. No warm weight on his back. No small hands gripping his scruff. No strange imp to chastise him for this when he should be focused and smarter. No beautiful, wicked curve of an impossible princess's smile.

Twilight's heart ached.

Sobered, the distance closed quickly and soon he could smell the distinctive scent of fairy and power. His hackles rose and he slowed, his animal instincts growing stronger. He was close now, very close, and his night vision did a great deal to show him what lay ahead. A massive flower rested before him, and in front of it was the dark shape of what could only be the hollow. It looked like him, only in his Hylian form, not his wolf.

He was startled to find red eyes staring directly at him.

"Come out, little wolf," it said. "I've been waiting for you."

A low, threatening growl slipped into the air, but noticed as he was, Twilight didn't hide or try a more subtle tactic. This was a direct fight. He prowled forward, teeth bared. The hollow did the same as it drew its sword and readied itself.

Taking the offensive, Twilight raced forward, snapping at a thigh only to have to twist out of the way before a sword impaled him. He circled, diving into a bush before waiting for his next opening. The pause seemed exactly what the hollow wanted.

"Why did you come? You know this place isn't for you," it said, circling slowly, careful to keep its back moving and defensible. "You belong with your princess. Your _Hylian_ princess."

Twilight's claws dug into the ground. He knew it would say this. It was exactly what he'd expected. That it would focus on his desire to get to the Twilight Realm and his worry over Midna, and so far it was doing exactly as he'd expected. There was no surprise and so there was no worry. Irritation, sure, he did not enjoy the way his innermost thoughts were given voice, but it hardly mattered. He knew all of these things. They did not surprise him.

"The Twilight Realm isn't your place. Its princess is not _yours_." It grinned. "That's what you want, isn't it? Her. Her and her land. Her people. You'd be content to remain a dog at her side, collared and leashed if only she'd keep you. Isn't that right, little pet?"

These words stung slightly more because he still hadn't wrestled the truth of his emotions out of himself enough to know if the hollow was right or not. It might be, and that would've been enough to make his heart falter not long ago. But it might also be wrong, and where Midna was concerned, he frequently _was_. It wouldn't matter if the statement was true or not though, not right now. That was a question for later.

And his resolve for that alone was what gave him the edge.

Opening sighted, he streaked out and managed to latch onto the sword arm, teeth digging in. The hollow shouted, dropped the sword and attempted to beat his muzzle, but that only gave Twilight reason to sink his claws into its body too.

"You mongrel!"

It shook him off, shadow-matter easing out like blood. They circled each other plainly now. Twilight knew that he could fight the hollow better in his true form, but for the words it had said, he was intent on beating him in this form. So it would know a feral hound had been all it was worth, and not the grace of a sword.

"She'll never want you!" it spat. "She'll never choose you, even if you find a way. It's not your world and you can't manage on your own.” It suddenly smirked. “But you knew that. You want to know something you didn’t know?"

Twilight snarled, preparing to leap. He was ready. Ready to stop this. Ready to end the fight. He'd fought the might of Zant and Ganondorf. This hollow was _nothing._

"The old ghost," it said with a bite. "Strange that he's here, isn't it? Hadn't he moved on? Why is he here now?"

Twilight snapped, burying teeth in shadowed flesh and although the hollow scowled, it didn't stop.

"And you, you mutt. You just follow him around without question. A little pup trailing around. That's you, though, isn't it? A follower. Did you succeed in your world because of your own ability, or was it all because you relied on him and those princesses? What part of the success was truly yours? Do you know?"

Twilight was done with this, and if he could have said so, he would have. Instead he launched himself at its neck and he clenched and ripped viciously, pleased and relieved to silence the shadow. Anything to stop it from talking.

Shadow-matter dripped from his mouth but he tasted nothing. The shadow-him dropped to the ground, fading away, but not before it turned toward him, red eyes filled with amusement.

"I know," it gargled. "You're so ... pathetic."

And then it was gone.

Twilight's chest heaved and still filled with too much energy he paced and snarled, snapped at the air and dared anything or anyone to approach him. To try to attack him when he was like this because the wolf in him was too close to the surface, and right now he didn't care.

The scent of fairy increased, and with it a little of the rage faded. He turned and found the biggest fairy he'd ever seen before in his life watching him.

"My," the Great Fairy said, eyes sparkling and intrigued as she looked at him. "What a strange one you are. Touched by twilight. Someone's been to the Twilight Realm quite a lot, haven't you?"

Twilight's ears perked up. She'd said it. The Twilight Realm. She _knew_ about the Twilight Realm!

He was half a second away from changing into his Hylian form and demanding an answer when a large finger stroked down his spine, petting him and stopping him in his tracks.

"Patience, young wolf, and you might one day find your way back. Thank you for saving me, dear."

She vanished with a splash into her flower, gone before he could even attempt a change and voice a word, and all he could do was watch the flower with disappointment. Listen to the world reawaken and the power crushing everything here lifting. He'd done his job.

Twilight stared at the spot the dark-him had been. In his mind he could still hear that creature’s words, intent on causing doubt to build in his chest. It surprised him what it had said. He'd fully expected it to tug at his worries about the Twilight Realm. About finding Midna again. He'd been prepared to defend his heart from such attacks. In those he was not bothered or swayed.

But he hadn't expected it to bring up Shade. He hadn't expected it to try to cast a shadow on his mentor and ancestor.

He hadn't expected it to make him doubt, even a little.

Twilight’s ears twitched as he heard something strange, something in the air, and alarmed and coming off a battle high he prepared himself for another fight. Were there monsters around here he hadn’t noticed? One of those flying guardians Yunobo was telling them about? He tilted his head upward and saw, to his bewilderment a set of pink flowers spinning in the air, keeping a wooden creature aloft just above. Immediately he crouched, slowly backing into the bushes, warry of whatever it was. Was this … normal for this world? Would it attack him? Would it pass by?

He wasn’t sure. But then, strangely enough, he scented Kid.

Twilight blamed his reaction on the battle high, but his focus immediately morphed into unbridled excitement. His tail wagged and he jumped up out of the darkness and yipped, catching the creature’s attention. He circled the small clearing, watching it as it descended lower and lower, and although none of this made sense to his Hylian mind, his wolf self was _over the moon_.

All it could think was that Kid was here. And he liked Kid. _A lot_.

He pawed at the ground, his tail wagging wildly as the small wooden body dropped down in front of him. It was shaped unlike anything he’d ever seen before, complete with blond hair, boots, gloves, and a green wrap around its lower body but it _smelled like Kid_.

“Hey there,” it said in an odd woody voice, lifting its hands to ward him off before saying, “How about you stay right there, wolfie.” To Twilight’s surprise, the creature touched its face and the next moment _Kid_ was standing there where it had been as he pushed something into his hip pouch. “I’m just here to talk to the fairy, maybe destroy a hollow if my friend hasn’t done it already.”

“What _were_ you?” Twilight couldn’t stop himself from asking as he shifted into his Hylian form, forgetting that he wasn’t supposed to do that around anyone other than Shade. It was hard to when he felt so comfortable with Kid.

“Twilight?” Kid exclaimed after jumping back before a big, bright smile crossed his face. “You can transform too?”

“That’s incredible!” Twilight said, a smile filling his face as he neared Kid whose eyes widened. “What was that?”

“A Deku Scrub like I was telling you about, and whoa! Your eyes shine in the dark! You can see in the dark, can’t you?”

“It’s my wolf form,” he admitted without thinking, “but yeah, I can see in the dark.”

“Amazing!” Kid said before he looked around, sobering slightly. “Did you face your hollow?”

Twilight nodded, mood calming too. “I just did. You?”

“It’s dead,” Kid said frankly. “I came just in case you needed help, but I’m not surprised you didn’t need any. But this is great! Now we can travel together again.” His eyes brightened with an idea. “I bet you’re pretty fast as a wolf, and I’m pretty light as a Deku Scrub. If I rode on your back, I bet we could see all sorts of things before we have to meet up with Time. You wanna explore some?”

Twilight knew what he should say. He knew what his father would want him to do. This was a mission. He should treat it as such, and that meant he should hurry up and get back on task. Meet up with Time and the others as soon as possible. They should go after Time in case he needed any help.

But Yunobo had told them that the trip up Death Mountain to Vah Rudania could take a day or two, not to mention the heat up there wasn’t something Twilight could handle – a primary reason why Time was assigned since he had gear which could withstand the heat. Realistically there was nothing Twilight could possibly do to help Time, and Kid hadn’t indicated if he could one way or another either. It could be a while waiting at the Woodland Stables for Time.

Why waste it? Especially when Kid was just as game as he was?

Twilight grinned. “Where do you want to go?”

Kid grinned back. “Well, while I was up there I saw a town just over the ridge, and I don’t know about you, but I love trying out every world’s foods. And then I think I saw the ocean. I don’t think it would take us long to reach it.”

They shouldn’t do this. He wasn’t usually like this, but there was something about Kid that just pulled at him. Made him _want_ to and, well, who would know? It could be just the two of them having a little fun, blowing off a little steam. Ideally he’d have liked to have done something like this with Shade, travel and have a good time like fathers and sons often did. But his father … well, he didn’t think this was something he’d have enjoyed.

But Kid obviously did.

In moments they were a wolf and a Deku Scrub, and after crouching down, Kid got on his back and held on. It was different from Midna who had more weight and softness to her than Kid did in this form, but he was very light. Traveling like this would be effortless. They might be able to see and do so much while they waited for Time.

Excited, Twilight turned and began loping away, following Kid’s directions as the dirt flew up behind him as he ran with Kid securely on his back. And like this, it was easy to ignore the dark thread of doubt that had been planted in his heart.

* * *

**Time**

Time watched as his hollow faded away, and much as he knew this was meant to be hard, he’d also known it wouldn’t be, at least not for him. He'd come into this fully prepared with experience and will, and no sooner had the hollow noticed him did the hollow die at his blade. There had been no time for it to speak. No time for it to move. He wondered if it had even known he'd been there despite the fact that it had already mirrored his face.

It didn't matter, though.

The energy agitating Vah Rudania dissipated and the great stone creature let out a fierce cry unlike anything Time had ever heard before. He smiled. That was good. It was the way it should be. Calmed and at peace. He had done that.

As he always did.

Satisfied with his work, he journeyed down Death Mountain, stopping only long enough to bid Yunobo and the Gorons he'd befriended farewell and to meet up once again with the rest of his party. The next part of Shade's plan would now be underway. Whoever succeeded would rendezvous with the others to face the final hollow at the Korok Forest, and whoever had not returned would get reinforcement.

In truth, he was surprised to find both Twilight and Kid waiting for him at the Woodland Stables below the mountain. Apparently they'd met up sometime earlier before settling in at the stables to wait for him.

"You made it!" Kid said, bright-eyed and grinning from where he and Twilight had been laughing around the stable’s outdoor campfire. "I thought you would. You've got some pretty nifty clothing after all. I bet the heat didn't bother you a bit."

"You're right," Time agreed with a small smile as he dropped his bag on the ground next to the log he sat at. He didn’t miss the way Twilight’s brighter mood seemed to level out into something calmer and more controlled now that he was here, but he paid it little thought. The Link’s temperamental mood wasn’t important. He arched a brow at them. "You both fared well in your missions?"

"Yes," Twilight said as he glanced at Kid and grinned again. "It went well. No injuries."

Time wasn't surprised by Twilight's penchant for few words with him, though the comradery he and Kid shared was interesting as it had been unexpected since he’d largely expected Twilight to keep to himself like he had every time he hadn’t been with Shade. He supposed he also wasn’t surprised when Kid's story spanned the better part of half an hour, exuberant, elaborate, and full of tall-tales, Time was certain.

"So yeah, my hollow was easy," Kid finally finished. "In the end, I just shot a couple of arrows at it, threw a bomb, and it was done."

"Impressive," Time replied as if he'd been engaged and fully attentive throughout the story instead of idly wondering what spices had been in the rice.

"How'd your fight go?" Kid asked, and Time sighed.

"It was difficult. I know I've fought my dark-self before, but the power of this Ganondorf ... this world ... for a moment I wasn't certain I would succeed."

"Yeah, well, we've all been there," Kid replied with a quick grin before he stood and dusted himself off, reaching for his pack. The boy tipped his head to indicate the path away from the mountain and toward their next destination. "So are we good to go? We're all here, we’ve completed our missions—"

"And I've received a message from Shade that both his and Wild's teams were successful as well," Twilight added, and Time wondered just how Twilight knew, and what form of communication he’d employed to have such knowledge over so great a distance. "They're already on their way toward the Korok Forest and should all be there soon."

"We'll get there first," Time said. "Shade probably already thought that out. We'll set camp for the others before we carry on with the next phase of the plan."

Twilight gave a cool nod before smoothing rising to catch up with an excited Kid. While they didn’t pull too much further ahead, Time let himself watch them as he followed. Not for the first time had he felt that, besides the obvious fact that there were seven Heroes of Courage present simultaneously, that something strange was going on. He'd felt that way since the beginning, and he’d noticed that it was stronger with some Links than others. Like with Shade and Twilight. Twilight and Kid. And _particularly_ Sky.

He didn’t know what it was, but as the Hero of Time he knew better to disregard his instincts. Time would tell, as it always did, and for now he was content to wait. See what happened. Collect more information until he could truly understand.

And then, when he did, he was certain he’d know exactly what he’d need to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next post on Thursday


	10. Final Hollow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Just wanted to do a little housekeeping and let you know that from here on out the blights are now called hollows. I'd always wanted to find an alternative label for the Dark Links but couldn't find anything I liked so I settled on blights. But I've been playing Age of Calamity and have decided to switch to something more canon. So now the blights are hollows.
> 
> Anyway, with that out of the way, I hope you enjoy!

**Wild**

Wild pressed his thumbs into his eyes from his spot far enough from camp that the others couldn’t hear. It wasn't that he wanted to keep conversations secret from them – if it had been important to the mission, he'd have said something. But this was more about venting than anything else, and although Princess Zelda's voice was just as disembodied as it always was when distance separated them, he was the only one who could hear her, and she, thankfully, could hear him.

"I don't know how much longer we can stand each other if things continue like they are," he admitted, keeping his eyes on the distant firelight. They'd all met up and set up camp just outside the misted Korok Forest, and while he hadn’t known what to expect after breaking into their smaller groups, this wasn’t quite it either. "Sky’s mood is worse than when we all left, Twilight's gone every moment he can steal and Shade just lets him go, Time's ... okay but he never stops asking questions, and I just … I don’t know, it’s weird. And Kid?" Wild groaned. "Kid won’t stop for a minute, for Hylia's sake, and cool down and shut up. I’m relieved every time Twilight takes the boy with him, if just for a little peace."

A weak chuckle slipped into the air. "No wonder it's so difficult on your nerves. But you've said nothing about young Wind. How is he? Better adjusted, I hope?"

"Of all of them, he's the only one I actually like," Wild admitted, unable to stop his smile. "At first I wasn't so sure, but then ... Princess, I've never seen anyone face a sandstorm like the one we had to face. He was fearless, and I understand why he's the Hero of the Wind now. He has the ability to _control_ the winds, and he used them to sail on the sand."

"Sail on the sand!"

"I've never seen anything like it! And it seemed like after that he really opened up and came into himself. He's been confident and lively. More upbeat. He's told me all sorts of stories about his Great Sea. He's traveled a lot, just like I have."

"I'm glad you have a friend, though admittedly I'm surprised it's Wind out of all of them. I'd have thought Twilight or Time might have made good companions."

Wild made a face and was glad the princess could not see him. "I'm sure we'll get to know each other better the longer we work together. We must after all." His mood darkened, and his eyes drifted toward the Korok Forest where the mists were thick, the shadows were dark, and the heavy press of Ganondorf's energy radiated out worse than it had at any of the other hollow locations. "It will take all of us to defeat this one, I believe."

"I believe you're right,” her voice sighed. “I can feel Ganondorf's power even from here. Has Shade explained the plan?"

"More or less,” Wild said before he sighed. “But I think he's distracted. I think most of them are, actually."

"That's concerning. Everyone defeated their hollows."

"Yes," Wild agreed. "But the hollows ... I don't know if they were different from the ones Wind and I fought, but ours tried to manipulate us through our fears and doubts. We were fine – honestly it seems like we both got more confident after our battles – but I think that maybe while the others succeeded, their hollows might have gotten to them in the end."

She hummed and he could hear the unease in the tone. "Keep an eye on them, then. All things considered, however, it seems as though everything is going well on your end. Not as well on mine."

This had been the question he'd been working up to. "How is the situation?"

"On the front with Ganondorf, surprisingly things have gotten better. I believe that his focus is locked on the seven of you so much that he has forgotten to keep an eye on the rest of us here on the plateau. The problem, as always, is our supplies and resources. We've far less than we previously thought we had, and despite the distractions, Ganondorf's monsters have managed to destroy two shipments of food we desperately needed. Link, Ganondorf's defeat cannot wait."

"We're going as fast as we can," he promised. "Hopefully it will be fast enough."

Hopefully, with seven of them, they would succeed.

"I believe in you," the Princess said, and he heard no hint of doubt. "And I mean _you_ , my Champion. I believe in the others as well, but you are this world's Hero of Courage, and I really do believe in you."

Wild wasn't sure he agreed with her, but he thanked her all the same. After all, it wouldn't be the first time her courage and strength were what he'd needed to pull through, as his was for her. Perhaps she was right.

He hoped she was.

A noise from the direction of the campfire snagged his attention. It had been a while. He should check on the others.

"Anyway, Princess. Please take care. Tomorrow we face the hollow. Pray for us and our success."

"Of course. May Hylia's grace be upon you. Upon you all."

Princess Zelda's voice faded until there was nothing more than the faint breeze rustling the treetops. Wild stayed there in the darkness, unmoving, one with nature. It settled him as it always did. He thought about diving into the forest, summoning his horse and galloping across the land, free. He wanted to do that. He wanted it more than anything.

But only once it was safe.

When he returned to the others they were gathered around the remains of the dinner he'd made before his talk with the Princess. Kid alone had wiped out more than Wild had thought possible and was laying on his back with a satisfied smile. Time and Sky were chatting by the fire with Wind listening on in amazement. Shade and Twilight were standing together at the edge of camp, looking toward the forest and occasionally muttering to each other.

Wind was the first to notice his return and he waved at him. "Wild! How'd the talk with Zelda go?"

"Princess Zelda," Time corrected gently. "She has a title, Wind. It's rude not to use it."

"Oh," the boy said with a blush. "Right."

"It went well," Wild said. "Ganondorf is too distracted with us to bother with the resistance, but they’re low on supplies. She prays we handle the situation as quickly as possible."

"We'll see how we fare after tomorrow," Shade said as he and Twilight returned to the circle. "I suspect the fight will be much harder than the smaller hollows we all faced individually."

"Do you think it will cause us too much of a problem?" Time asked before he glanced at Wind and Sky. "Not all of us need go. Some of us might wait as reinforcements."

Shade's one brilliant blue eye was like a knife. "Don't you feel it?"

Wild clenched his teeth. He'd been able to feel it since their final approach, and Wind had confided in him that the pressure in the air was unlike anything he'd ever felt before. He could see it in the eyes of the others. Sky was uneasy. Twilight's sharp eyes were as alert as Shade's. Even Kid frowned, glancing toward the forest.

They all felt it. Time frowned.

"Then it shall be all of us."

"I doubt we'd survive if it weren't all of us," Shade said. “This is Ganondorf, and he is testing us. He tested us individually. Now he will test us together."

"There’s barely anything to test," Kid muttered. "We've only just met each other. Sure, we've been in groups, but we haven't been together like this since the first couple of nights we got here, and none of us were very chatty back then."

"Which is likely why he will challenge us this way." Shade's eye darkened. "We must retake the Korok Forest. Not only does it lessen Ganondorf's power, but it also frees the power of Wild's Master Sword and allows him to use more of his slate’s abilities. If only for the sword, we must succeed."

The Master Sword. Even the mere mention of the useless hunk of metal on Wild's back made him ashamed and uneasy. No matter how often he tried to charge it, it never charged. Impa had been clear that its power was tied to the Korok Forest as much as it was tied to him. They _had_ to free the forest and the Great Deku Tree if they were going to fight the Dark Lord at all. Not to mention he wanted to be able to teleport where he wanted to using the slate again.

But Kid had a point. He and Wind might be friends, but Wild was unfamiliar with the rest of them beyond acquaintance, and it was clear it was the same for the others. Small groups and pairs had formed with Kid more or less bouncing between them all. If Shade was right and this final hollow required their combined teamwork, he was concerned. Even he and Wind hadn't _actually_ fought together. They'd only traveled together.

It was a lot to ask from seven virtual strangers.

"Well," Time said. "What do you propose we do?"

"Stick to the plan," Shade replied calmly. "Rely on your partner. Ignore whatever the hollow has to say about yourself or others. Our job is to destroy it and free the forest, and do it without any loss. And the sooner the better, unless anyone has objections about proceeding?"

Although Wild noticed a few uneasy glances, no one said a word. Almost two weeks had passed since Princess Zelda cast the spell. Although that meant they still had two more weeks left to handle Ganondorf, those first two had gone by quickly. There was no guarantee that the last two wouldn't either. There wasn't time to wait.

It felt like there was barely time at all.

Their old leader looked at them all before nodding.

"We'll go over the plan one more time," he said, sitting at the fire, and now that he had, everyone else had done the same. Wild sat next to Wind and the young boy gave him a small smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"And after that?" Sky asked.

"After that, rest," Shade said. "Tomorrow we free the forest. And then we fight Ganondorf."

* * *

**Kid**

Kid couldn't help it. If it had been _anyone_ else, he wouldn't have cared. But it. Was. _Shade_.

For some reason he couldn't put his finger on, he could not _stand_ Shade.

It wasn't that Gramps was wrong or anything. The old knight had been around the castle a time or several if he had to guess just by how old he looked. But Kid knew a good plan when he saw it. Knew a good leader when he met them. It _was_ a good plan and Shade _was_ a good leader, and of all of them, the best. Nothing phased him. There wasn't a thing that seemed capable of surprising him, at least nothing Kid had been able to figure out yet.

But there was _something_. It was there every time he stood near the calm, old hero. It was there every time their eyes crossed even for the briefest moment. It was there down to the old man's _stupid_ voice, and it was maddening. He didn't know what it was, but there was _something about Shade_.

It was just like, in the exact opposite way, there was that thing about Twilight too. Like when how he couldn’t _stand_ Shade, he just always wanted to hang out with Twilight. The wolf-hero was just … it was like they had the same type of soul. Obviously they were entirely different, but while they’d been out exploring waiting for Time, Twilight hadn’t hesitated to just let loose and have a little fun with him. Riding on Twilight’s back, they’d explored the Akkala countryside all the way to the cliffs of Zora’s Domain and the base of Death Mountain, moving fast, never stopping, seeing _everything_.

It was almost like having Navi back. Not Navi, of course. Twilight wasn’t Navi.

But for the first time in _so long_ , with Twilight he didn’t feel alone anymore.

Unfortunately the moment Shade showed up, Twilight hadn’t had as much time to spend with him as he’d wanted, and it was just another weird black mark against the old knight. He didn’t understand why they were so close, why Twilight and Shade almost seemed to _know_ each other. It didn’t make sense, and Twilight wasn’t letting on even when Kid tried to figure it out.

He'd been able to ignore this _thing_ about Shade for a while given their respective missions, but that they were all together again and since he was now assigned in a team _with_ Shade and Twilight, he was going up the wall. Although he knew this was important – he really was taking this seriously – he didn't want to listen. Kid’s worst inclinations and behaviors, the childish ones he used to annoy and deflect, petulance and irritability, they were roaring through him. It bothered his inner adult. Aside from Shade, he had to be the oldest here. The most experienced. He shouldn't even _have_ to be in a team with anyone.

"Kid, Wind, and Sky will provide ranged support," Shade had said over last night’s briefing. "Time, Twilight, Wild, and I will directly engage the hollow. Between the groups, and so long as everyone is watching each other’s back, we will be victorious."

All Kid could think when he’d heard the plan was support? He was _support_? He'd taken on evil lords and gods and even the _moon_ for crying out loud, and the old man wanted him to play _support_.

"I can do a lot more than what you think," Kid had told Shade when he'd caught him alone and away from the rest of the group. "I shouldn't be support, and you shouldn't treat me like a child."

"I'm not treating you like a child, and I know your capabilities," Shade had replied firmly. "I want you providing support. That is where you are needed for this plan."

Kid had bristled because the old man _didn't_ know what he was capable of. Didn't _know_ that he'd spent an extensive amount of time time traveling. That he could change into other forms. That he had saved _worlds_. That he had the power of a god at his disposal.

But Shade had already walked away, and now Kid was following behind him and Twilight with the other teams at their flanks. Swords were raised and out of the corners of his eyes he could make out Time and Sky, and Wild and Wind, and it was incredible to Kid just how focused everyone else was. He supposed that was fair. He'd saved worlds more than a few times, so he wasn't worried. The others probably only had once, and Wild not at all.

Kid couldn't help but be bored.

"Are we close?"

"Shh," Shade replied and Kid glowered. It was dark and Twilight was navigating because with his night-vision it obviously made the most sense, though Wild offered occasional comments. Apparently if they got lost here, they’d get thrown out completely. They hadn't been thrown out yet, at least Kid didn't think so, so either Wild was lying about the windiness of the forest, or Twilight instincts were incredible.

Although it again made him wonder how Shade knew about them because it seemed like now that they were all together, Twilight didn’t want anyone to know. He’d even asked Kid to keep quiet about his wolf form, which _, fine_ , but why did Shade know then?

They continued in silence, the only sounds their footsteps in the brush or the clack of armor or click of chainmail.

"I don't like it here," Wind whispered. "I can't feel the wind. There are too many trees."

"Neither do I," Sky agreed. He'd been forced to leave his loftwing outside of the forest. There was no way they could bring her with them and it had caused the Hero of the Sky to be moodier than usual.

"Quiet," Shade said, and Kid wondered if he heard the kinder tone in the old man's voice than he'd used with Kid himself. "Twilight?"

Twilight didn't respond, not immediately. Of all of them, his movements were the quietest. If Kid hadn't known Twilight was there, he'd have never known because he never made a sound. He prowled ahead of them with the grace of an animal, unafraid of the silence or the dark around them. A wolf in Hylian form.

It was incredible to watch, and in the dim light of Time's torch, Kid saw Twilight’s eyes flash. His nose lifted and stilled. Kid held his breath.

"We're close."

"Everyone get ready," Shade said, settling his helmet on his head before lifting his sword. At the signal everyone spread further out, getting into their positions. They were going to surround the hollow. The forward teams would attack, the rear teams would provide support and switch out whenever someone needed a break.

With this many thems, Kid thought all of this was overkill. He fully expected to be bored to tears. But he got into position as he was told, climbing a tree and pulling out his bow and knocking arrows. He had a job to do and while he might not care as much about Shade, Twilight had become his favorite out of the bunch, and he didn’t want anything to happen to him if he could help it. With one eye on Shade and Twilight and the other ahead of them, he steadied his breath and waited.

He didn't have to wait long.

The hollow was there, but Kid didn't know if it was because he was further away or if it was something they all were seeing but it seemed formless, like black mist waiting for them, oozing power enough to make him tighten his stance and ready himself for a tough fight. Now his attention was fully engaged. There was something different about this hollow. Shade must have suspected it because now he thought it really _might_ take them all, and that their roles in support might actually be more useful as eyes for analysis and examination.

"Stay on your toes," Shade shouted to everyone. "Keep steady. Communicate with your teams. We'll get through this."

Much as he didn't want to agree with Shade, he had to admit that the old knight’s confidence was steadying.

Now that they were close enough, the darkness was changing, reforming itself. Four eyes appeared out of the body, each pinned on one of the forward heroes, and as it did, the body grew solid and whole. Two massive arms, one with a broadsword and the other with a gigantic hammer beat at the group but the forward team was nimble enough to avoid the attacks. The eyes began to flash and one-by-one they launched red lasers at them. Kid aimed, but one of the other support Links were faster, and before an eye could finish powering up, an arrow stopped it. Its body seemed planted on the ground, unable to move but then it didn't seem to matter to it. Its roots appeared randomly out of the ground tinged with electric barbs they had to be careful to avoid, although an arrow or a bomb to those as well would cause the entire field to short out for a few seconds.

Keeping his eyes on Twilight and Shade, he did what he could to anticipate what his team might need. For the most part, he struck eyes since it wasn't safe to toss bombs in his part of the field with two people to watch over. Sky on the other hand was able to communicate with Time well enough that bombs were frequently used in their area, but even Kid didn't find as much to do with the eyes given that Wind appeared to be a sharpshooter of the highest order. If there was an eye in range at all, the other boy had already shot it, and between him and Wind it was rare that the lasers manifested. Unfortunately there was little they could do to help with the massive sword and hammer. The front-liners had to handle that on their own.

It was slow going, a test of endurance if anything else as the others searched for weaknesses to help bring it down quicker. Kid watched closely, checking for patterns and calling out what he could see when he saw it. The others reacted accordingly, but as the fight dragged on, he noticed a greater pattern, one that only happened once in a long while, too long to feasibly wait for over and over again without taking the chance.

After long series of attacks, the space between the four eyes and the arms would reveal itself ever so slightly. There was a spot in its thick skin that appeared weak and vulnerable right where a heart or vital organ might be before it closed a few seconds later. All it would take was someone quick to get to it and plunge a blade in. It was almost too easy.

And, Kid realized, the pattern cycle was almost up. If he wanted to get to it before the opportunity closed and they'd have to wait a long time before it presented itself again, then he had to go, and he had to go _now_.

Kid could do it. He knew what to do.

Emboldened and sure, he jumped off his branch to the ground and advanced. There was an opening, and although he knew Shade wouldn't appreciate him leaving his post, he couldn't afford to waste time telling the old man what he was planning when he could end this by just _doing_ it. They would understand, they were all heroes, they would get it when this was over. Kid just had to be fast. He had to get in there before its pattern shifted again. He could do it. He knew he could.

But then Kid watched as, just as he raced past Twilight, a new eye appeared, one that locked right on him. To his horror, dark, multicolored tentacles manifested in the creature, lashing out in a new pattern Kid hadn't anticipated and suddenly Kid _got_ what those eyes were for and why there had only been four at the time. Now there were five. One for each hero who'd fought it directly, gaining new advantages for each knight it faced.

The others were yelling at him, but it was already too late to launch his attack. He switched to defense, but the tentacles whipped around faster than he could blink and the next thing he knew pain erupted at the side of his head. He went weightless, and it was only later when he felt grit under his face and had the thick smell of forest dirt in his nose that he realized he'd been flung away.

His ears rang but slowly it passed, and he soon wished it hadn't. There was yelling now, more yelling, and as he blinked he saw that the tentacles hadn't just beaten him back. They'd reached into the trees and pulled Sky and Wind out of their positions too, adding two more eyes and two more changes to the beast. It had wings now and could fly. It was both light and heavy at its discretion, and the sudden influx of abilities and the loss of the support team gave it freedom of motion it hadn't had before. It attacked with lasers and whip-like tentacles. It attempted to crush them under its bulk. If the battle had been slow and grueling at first, now it was going badly. Beyond badly, and it was happening fast.

To his dread, he saw that something had happened to Twilight who was limp and unconscious with Shade doing everything he could to protect him and haul him out of range while giving orders to the others. But Wild was down too, face bloodied, and although he was on a knee trying to recover, he couldn't make it. Wind was in front of him, shooting tentacles and eyes away before they could shoot lasers but he was down to a handful of arrows now, avoiding the hollows crushing weight only by use of a strange white baton that seemed to send it flying away every time it got close. Sky and Time seemed to have the best of it, working back-to-back to shield each other and attack while the other defended, but a laser got Sky in the shoulder, throwing him back and that threw Time purely on the defensive, keeping his partner safe. They were in danger. They might even die. It was going south fast. He’d misjudged. His arrogance and impatience had cost them.

This was all Kid's fault.

"Kid!" Shade yelled, capturing his attention. The old hero had pulled Twilight to safety and was the only one directly engaging the beast. It gave Time enough of an opening to advance as well again, but it was so very little to so great a thing. "Do something, Kid! Stop dragging your ass and _take care of this!_ "

Kid flinched. He couldn't help it. But to his horror, his hand was already inside his hip pouch. He could feel the familiar ridges of wood at his fingertips, the right mask _right there_ filled with so much power. Kid wanted it, just like he always did. It would change the tide of battle. It would save them. It would save Twilight. It would be so easy.

He'd _love_ it.

And in that moment, Kid knew several irrefutable facts.

One was that they were never going to be able to fight off this hollow, not as they were now. They were too disorganized. Half were injured and the other half were attempting to protect others and fight the hollow off. There was no way they could rally and regroup in time. Not to save the forest. Not to save themselves. As things were, they would not survive this, not even with Shade taking the brunt of the fight.

The second was that he had the solution. He had the one thing that could save them all, and he suspected that it was the _only_ thing because otherwise one of the others would have used an object of that level of power by now. They were losing. They would not survive this, he could see it in everyone's eyes and in Shade's determined one. If someone had something, they would have used it by now, which meant it was up to _him_.

And the third most important fact he knew, was that he could not do it.

Even now on the precipice of failure with six other Heroes depending on him for survival, he could not muster the courage to pull the mask from his bag and pull it on. It would be _so easy_ to do. It would all end in a moment. He could save _everyone_. He could save another _world_ with that power. He could save _Twilight._

The thought of it, right at his fingertips and what he could and _would_ do with it once he put it on was too much to bear. And Kid just _couldn’t._

He couldn’t risk another Falfiza. Not when he couldn’t fix the problem afterward. Not when he wasn’t sure he’d even want to.

Kid glanced at Shade, saw Shade's lone eye flash toward him, waiting, expecting _something_. Expecting him to save the day as if he _knew_.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, taking a step back. “I’m sorry.”

Kid turned on his heel and ran.

"Kid?" Shade shouted, his voice following him as he dashed into the woods as fast as he could go. "Kid!"

Kid ignored the old hero as guilt and shame and fear gnawed at his chest like he’d been stabbed but he shoved it away because the alternative was worse. The godly power, it would take over, it would make him into a horrible monster filled with pride and arrogance and he wasn't sure he could control that power. Not enough to say with certainty that he wouldn't become the next monster they had to fight. And he _knew_ they wouldn’t be able to fight him then, no matter what.

Despite his apparent age and size, Kid had always prided himself on being fast. He was quick and filled with Farore-given agility. Sure, he couldn't outrun everything, but he could outrun a lot of things. Definitely an old man in armor. Maybe not the hollow itself, but that didn't matter. It was focused on the others and he wished them all the best and hoped they made it out – that Twilight made it out – but he had to _go_. Even if they didn't understand and he was a coward for it.

He hadn't expected an old man in armor to be as quick – no, _quicker_ – than he was, because one moment he was racing through the dark forest as fast as he could, and the next a gauntlet covered hand sideswiped him hard enough he saw stars and stumbled to his hands and knees.

"Enough!" Shade shouted, jerking Kid up by the front of his tunic and lifting him high enough his feet dangled. Kid shouted, hatred for Shade filling his eyes and heart. He _wasn't_ a kid, despite his size and apparent age. He shouldn't be manhandled like this. How _dare_ he?

But Kid didn't get much time to show his fury, not when Shade pinned him down with a blue eye sharper and more ferocious than anything he'd _ever_ seen in his life, and he'd seen a lot. At that moment nothing terrified him more than this old hero did as he held him off the ground with a snarl so fearsome it would have made the Goddess Farore tremble.

"Where is it?" Shade snarled, the fight behind them growing louder. "Where's the mask, Kid?"

Kid blanched. “I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

“Yes, you do.” Shade’s words had come out solid and sure, no room for anything except the truth _._ Kid had no idea how Shade knew, but somehow he _knew_. “Now tell me where it is before everyone dies. Or do you want that on your conscience too?”

Kid went numb.

“What did you say?”

“You know what I said,” Shade snapped. “If you won’t use it, _I will_. Now, give it to me.”

“But—”

Shade pulled him closer and Kid was filled with terror. They were face-to-face with little more than an inch between them, and that strange unease that filled him every time he was near Shade roared higher than ever.

“Who _are_ you?” he suddenly whispered.

“The _mask_ ,” Shade said, and then he dropped him. Kid didn’t feel the ground or the way his body hit it. He was still staring at Shade, able to do little more than as he was told, his fingers trembling around the mask as he pulled it out and offered it.

“Be careful,” Kid breathed, unable to do anything except stare at the old hero. “It’s powerful. It’ll corrupt if you’re not careful.”

Shade gave Kid a cool gaze, his one familiar sapphire eye blazing with cold conviction.

“I know.”

Shade pressed the Fierce Deity Mask to his face without hesitating. Light curled around him, blinding Kid, and the last thing Kid saw was the Fierce Deity striding back toward the battle, a titan amidst the dense green, drawing his sword.

Ready to destroy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next post on Monday


	11. Break

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy!

**Shade**

Shade knew from the moment he put on the Fierce Deity's Mask that he would win. That he would save the rest of the Heroes of Courage, that he would defeat the hollow, that he would protect his son and his past with little more than a few swings of a divine blade.

He also knew beyond a doubt, that the others – including his son – were about to see the truth of him. About his secret, the one he'd been trying to keep hidden since he arrived in this world because how could he not? The truth would change their perception of him. Make him a monster.

But they would die otherwise, and Shade would not let that happen. So he strode into battle clad in the power of a god and got to work.

It was heady, the power. Even thousands of years later, he still remembered it from long ago. How much he'd wanted it. How much he'd craved it. How terrified of it he was, for what he could do and what he had done. Just more sins and memories in the long stream of his memories, but for him they were old, and the siren call of the Fierce Deity's power no longer owned him. He owned it.

Lasers to combat the hollow's own shot out of his sword, and as he was now, he towered above the others, taller even than when he was properly dead. His blade slashed and several tentacles dropped to the ground, useless. He stepped on electric barbs and they did little more than tingle.

"Retreat," he told the others, keeping the monster distracted. Sky and Time were farthest away but also in the best shape, and although they were startled and staring, they quickly recovered themselves and obeyed as Wind helped Wild limp off the field. A glance back showed that Twilight was starting to come to, dazed and confused. The hollow attacked with its hammer, attempting to take advantage of his son's weakened state, but he stepped in and used his divine sword to ward it off. Keep it back.

"What's—?"

"Go, son," he said in an otherworldly voice before he flung the beast away with a heave of his strength. "I will handle this."

"Father?"

Kid tugged him up by an arm before he could say much more, but by then it didn't matter because this was a one-on-one fight between him and Ganondorf's last hollow. The others were out of the way, he could unleash his fury.

And so he did. Relentlessly.

It had been too long since he'd last done this, let alone with a proper body – if not completely alive. His movements flowed with speed and strength. He danced with the shadowed beast in a rapid tide of advance and retreat. It lifted into the air, he shot it down, he jumped up, tentacles yanked him onto the barbs which had grown sharper and more lethal.

Admittedly he was having fun. It had been so long since he’d had a proper battle. He'd missed the surge of adrenaline, the drag of muscle and metal, the flashes of pain to remind him to stay aware. Of course, they always faded away immediately to leave him in perfect health, and maybe that was what drew him too deeply into the fight because as in control of the Fierce Deity's power as he was, he was also, even after ten thousand years, the Forgotten Hero. When pushed, he pushed harder than anyone, damn the consequences.

He realized his mistake when he jumped before his advantage and tentacles caught him and dragged him down. This time it wasn't onto the electric barbs, however, but onto the hollow's massive sword. He watched as it impaled him through the middle, felt the blinding flare of pain before it tore itself out through the side leaving him almost cut completely in two.

"Father!" Twilight screamed somewhere off the side of the field, but Shade didn't look. He couldn't look. Instead he bared his teeth like a wolf, got his arms up under him and stood again, and in front of everyone his body healed itself. The pain faded, leaving temporary numbness, and soon he was right as rain.

Only every time he'd been injured enough to cause such regeneration, it showed him for what he truly was. A hulking stalfos. Undead. The hero who'd become a monster.

From the forest he could hear the others yelling, shouting, the tones filled with horror and accusation, but Shade ignored it. The glamour on himself was back again, along with the power of the Fierce Deity, and reminded of his place he moved with purpose now instead of enjoying an old thrill. No intricate maneuvers, only destruction, and within moments the hollow was on its back, torn to pieces and fading away. The battleground was broken and quiet. He pulled off the Fierce Deity Mask and returned to himself, the power gone but it didn't matter. What was done, was done.

They'd all seen. Just like he'd known they would.

They came out one-by-one, all of them, even stupid _Kid_. He knew the looks in their eyes, had somehow expected them. Not just because it was natural, given their thoughts and feelings, but because deep down, maybe in some forgotten memories he hadn't even known existed from a lifetime he couldn’t quite remember, he'd _known_.

Now that the forest was freed, life and light returned quickly. The area felt purified and filled with an ancient forest magic, one he knew Kid could feel. Kid's expression was the easiest to understand. Horror. Realization. Knowing.

After everything that had happened, Shade wasn't at all surprised that Kid only shook his head in denial before he took off into the trees, vanishing before anyone could so much as glance his way.

"What are you?" demanded Sky, fury flaring and aggressive. "We all saw what happened out there. You were torn all the way through! You should be dead!"

"You're a stalfos," Time said, brows furrowed as he reached for his bow. "You're not even alive, are you?"

"That shouldn't mean anything," Wind said nervously, though he hung back behind Sky and Time. "He's one of us.” The young boy looked at him imploringly. “You're one of us, right?"

Even though he’d known this would happen, Shade's eye still narrowed. "I carry the Triforce of Courage, same as you."

"But you're dead," Wild said, eyes enraged and face unyielding as he held the Master Sword before him. "The only dead who walk Hyrule are the ones who serve Ganondorf. How do we know that you're not a traitor? A monster planted to infiltrate our ranks?"

"I came when the others did," Shade said pointedly, aware he was losing control of the situation. "It was _your_ princess who summoned me. Do you question her abilities?" Suddenly a lick of anger touched his old, tired heart. Ten thousand years he'd been the Forgotten Hero doing everything he could to save those that needed him. He'd _died_ , and still he'd carried out the work of a hero, suffered well beyond anything he'd ever expected to experience. Longing for an end that would never come, all in the names of destiny and peace.

And now he was being called a traitor. He'd been called a lot of things in his time, but never that.

The sad truth was that he could see it in their eyes. The doubt. The suspicion. Dead was dead, and it seemed that their mutual experience of the undead ensured they considered him a lethal threat. He wanted to argue his case. Who had helped them and taken leadership? Who'd arranged them into the best teams possible to ensure survival? Who had just saved them?

That didn't matter. He was undead. He was a monster. They thought he was a traitor.

And if there was one thing Shade knew, it was when he was unwanted. It was the only constant in his life. Used and tossed away. Alone and forgotten.

He turned to go but a blur raced in front of him, blocking his way. He stared. Twilight.

"Father," Twilight said, and bless the boy, he was the only one who showed no fear, only confusion and a need to understand. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because," Shade said quietly, unable to stop the last vestiges of tenderness in his heart for the boy to swell. Twilight deserved the truth, and Shade would give it to him. "I wanted to feel alive again."

But the truth of the matter was that he wasn't. He was not alive. He was undead, a shame to everything, especially Twilight.

Perhaps Twilight's animal instincts told him what Shade would do next because the boy's head rose sharply and his eyes widened.

"Father—"

It didn't matter. In a flash of light he'd assumed his golden wolf form and plunged into the foliage. His paws dug into the dirt, the wind screamed in his ears, and now that the forest was free of the hollow, he was free as well. Free to leave the young ones, the ones who were alive and deserved life. There was no room for an undead creature like him.

There was no room for him anywhere because even death wouldn't take him. And he doubted it would start doing so now.

So he ran.

* * *

**Ganondorf**

To say the least, he had not expected the outcome of the battle in the slightest. The slow defeat of all seven heroes, certainly – he'd chanced that one of them would be foolhardy, and he'd been right on that account as the impulsive child had turned the tides of the battle. The elder had been losing his upper hand. Ganondorf had watched from afar through his fires as he waited for what would happen next. He hadn't expected them to fail, of course. One of them had to have a secret waiting in the wings. Once again he'd kept his eyes on that strange, older hero with the one eye. Shade.

Shade had not disappointed.

Ganondorf had watched transfixed as he'd vanished momentarily only to reemerged transformed and more powerful than could possibly be dreamed of. If they'd struggled before, now the old hero danced with vigor, clearly enjoying himself just as much as Ganondorf was merely watching him. Glorious. The others were children compared to this seasoned knight. Experience was in every move. Grace. Strength. A keen mind.

And he'd sighed in disappointment when the hollow had caught the hero and impaled him, all but ripping him in two. Nothing could survive that. His interest had flickered and waned.

It revived into full intrigue a moment later when what stood afterward was not something alive, but something not quite living and not quite dead. It healed completely. Regenerated in seconds as the old hero stood to his full height. Only he was not clothed in skin. His eye was not blue. The figure that stood tall now was nothing more than a spirit form and bones, with a red eye glowering out before the glamour took hold once again.

But the truth was revealed. The others were undeniably alive. This one, the elder, he was not. He was dead. Undead.

Just as he was. For the first time in Ganondorf's long years, it struck him that he was not alone.

The battle ended quickly after that but the Gerudo hardly noticed or cared. His eyes were all for the old hero as his mind filled with questions and curiosity. A deep desire to meet this man.

Predictably the other heroes did not understand, but his vision weakened now that the hollow had been destroyed. He saw enough, though. Saw the way their eyes did not understand and filled with accusation. Watched as the one Shade was closest to tried to understand, but this time the reluctance was from the old knight himself.

And to Ganondorf's surprise, Shade transformed, once again shedding his skin to adopt a beastly one of his own, gold and powerful and swift. A wolf unlike any he had ever seen before.

This Link was filled with surprises.

As he had for some time now, he sensed the gold wolf with the red eye race across the wilds of Hyrule as if running from a monster. Never stopping. Never taking a moment to catch its breath, to drink, or eat. It just ran. Hard and fast away from the others, and Ganondorf could do little more than watch, enchanted. He _should_ be watching the others. They'd freed the Great Deku Tree. The Master Sword could be charged again, the Sheikah Slate would be fully active once more, and soon enough he knew they would come for him.

But he couldn’t care less. They could come and they would all fight. One of them would win, the cycle would repeat yet again. Hardly interesting. But this Shade, a hero who could not move on after death, who was still undead even now ...

Now, he was interesting. The most interesting being in the whole world.

Ganondorf had known there was something about the old hero. He’d been drawn to him the moment the knight in gold had arrived and he'd been right. And what better time than now to meet with this incredible warrior?

The Gerudo king smiled and rose to his feet, enamored with what the encounter would hold. He couldn't wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next post on Thursday


	12. Youths

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy!

**Kid**

Kid ran blindly, and he didn't care where he went so long as it was as far away from the others, from _him_ , as possible.

Which didn't seem possible, after all. Not when it was true that while he ran as fast as he could away from the old man, he couldn’t ever run away from himself.

"Impossible," he snapped at the air as he ran, snarling at himself and all of his demons. "It's not possible!"

But it didn’t seem to matter. After all, he was the epitome of that. If it was impossible, he was there to prove it otherwise. He didn't even have to try. It was as if the Goddesses were intent on toying with his life like this. He wondered if it would ever end.

Given what had happened to Shade, whatever Shade was, he suspected he knew the answer.

"No!" he yelled, pulling his thoughts out of the vein they were heading down, but he didn't have time to focus on anything else, not when a root all but lifted up in front of him, tripping him. Kid had been going as fast as he possibly could, anything to get away. The momentum threw him to the ground and he rolled violently, his body striking the ground hard enough to jar and bruise and scrape, maybe even break a bone.

But he got away easy, just as he always did, with little more than mild pain and Kid _hated_ himself for not hurting more. For not having been damaged beyond repair. For not being made to suffer more for what he'd done – what apparently he _would_ do – for _everything_ he'd done.

Kid deserved punishment. He deserved to suffer. But instead, every time he made a mistake, every time he screwed up in the worst possible ways, there was something to save him. Something to make it all right and wipe it all away as if it had never happened, leaving him the sole owner of memories that shouldn’t exist. Memories which threatened to drive him insane every day.

It was the worst kind of hell, and if he was right – and he knew deep down he was – _it did not get better_.

Kid was running again, sprinting as fast and as hard as his small, youth-filled body was capable of, and screamed. His voice echoed through the trees. The way ahead clouded with the blur of furious tears, his ears filled with the heavy throb of blood and all the while he kept waiting for the stupid forest to reject him like it was supposed to. Like Wild swore it would. He wanted out. He wanted away. He wanted to find the nearest cliff and leap off of it and for once, _just for once_ , be done with it.

Because this was his life. Shade would _become_ his life. And he was certain now that everything he'd done, good and bad, wouldn't matter because he would _never. Find. Navi._

The blackest pit of despair filled him completely, and it was then that he realized that even if he _did_ die, it might not be the end. It _wouldn't_ be the end. Shade wasn't alive, but he wasn't dead either. Somehow he was stuck in-between, and Kid couldn't even fathom that. Not being able to rest? To stop? To move on? To finally let the memories go and fade into nothingness? How old _was_ Shade really?

What had he done to deserve this?

It was this thought that broke him, and with a sob he abruptly collapsed to his knees, the fire of rage abandoning him and taking its energy with it. Kid curled into the grass, clenching it with both his fists as tears poured from his eyes because what _had_ he done to deserve this? And not just the guilt of his sins or the weight of everything he was forced to remember on his own. No, what had he done so he had to endure all of this right from the beginning? Why had it been he who had to fight for Hyrule, then be forgotten by it, abandoned by it, abandoned by _Navi_? What had he _done_? He'd only been a hero; the hero everyone needed. He'd done everything asked of him. He’d done it over and over again.

But why was this his life?

Kid wracked his mind, submitting himself to the thoughts he fought so hard to forget about with constant activity and unrelenting enthusiasm, and as he'd known he couldn't find the answer. He supposed there _was_ no answer, and it brought a black mark of satisfaction to his chest because wouldn't that be the case? The Chosen of Farore, for no reason at all, doomed to do nothing but fight and suffer for all of eternity. Was he even allowed to be happy? Was he allowed to find peace? Any at all?

Kid sobbed and sobbed, his breaths shuddering out of him in ways he'd never let happen before. He'd had to be strong. To be in control, but that illusion of control was shattered now, and what did it matter anyway? When pressed, his courage had failed him. Twilight, his favorite of all of them, had almost _died,_ and he hadn’t done anything to save him. He didn't know what he was anymore, but he certainly wasn't a hero. He wasn’t one of them.

Eventually the tears slowed and stopped, leaving his face dry and hot and course with streaks of salt, and eventually the burn of anger and the flood of anguish left him feeling numb and listless. Heavy and eviscerated. It wouldn't have mattered if something attacked him now or not. He wouldn't care. It was hard to care when everything had come to a head. Kid rolled to his side and saw that he was in a gently lit clearing, the grass plush and soft. The air was fresh here, untouched by the rest of the world, protected by the forest and the trees around him. Their leaves shifted high above with the breeze. The air was filled with gentle chimes.

It reminded him of the Kokiri Forest he'd left behind, all fresh and green and filled with true youth, life, and fun. The home he'd never be allowed back to.

He waited for the ground beneath him to swallow him whole.

Kid was content to lay there for a while yet, aimless and useless and pathetic as could be, but a woody old voice spoke up.

"What is wrong, Child of Time?"

With little else to do, Kid listlessly roved his eyes around, seeking the voice that had spoken, but he didn't see anyone. None of the other hims had found him. There were no other people here. This was an empty forest, the Korok Forest sure with this world’s Kokiri, but Kokiri unlike any he'd ever seen, he'd been assured. The Korok. No eternal kids, but wood and life creatures closer to Deku Scrubs than anything.

"Who's there?" he sighed, giving up as he always gave up. "What do you want? And why did you call me ... that." Kid couldn't say it himself. It was too close to the pain he'd just torn through.

"It's who you are, child," the woody voice said, and with a sinking sensation Kid realized he'd heard something like this before. It had just been a very long time ago. "We are eternal and wise. Our wisdom and knowledge pass on."

That sinking pit at the very bottom of his stomach twitched. Not a lot, but enough. Enough to feel like something had been lit again, something smoking with a timer.

"Great Deku Tree."

The words came out with the dying edge of a bite. Although he'd thought he'd had nothing else in him, he found himself shoving his torso upward, a baleful, dead glower on his face. Now that he knew who he was talking to he knew where to look. Somehow, someway, he'd found his way here to the center of the forest. To _him_.

On the biggest tree in the area was a wooden face he couldn't miss now even if he tried. It peered down at him, the visage of concern pulling at the bark.

The concern coming from the Great Deku Tree was too close to what it had been when he'd truly been a child. It was too similar, and that similarity tore at an ember of anger that had survived low in his chest, hidden so deep that he hadn't even realized it had been there at all.

"What's wrong?" he echoed, remembering the tree's first words.

Kid exploded.

"What's _wrong_?" he demanded, fury burning in his blood as his voice rose in volume. "What's _wrong_ is that one of you great and wise Deku Trees took me in, raised me, sent me off into the world to save it, and then be forgotten for it. Forgotten by Hyrule, forgotten by Termina, forgotten by every other world I've ever visited and saved because one of _you_ told me to! I can't even go _home_ because I'm Hylian and will grow older. And it doesn't even matter does it, that I look like a child when I'm older than I could possibly ever be, and now? Now I get a fucking glimpse into my own future! I'll become _him!_ "

Kid's voice echoed through the trees, and every time a small, leafy Korok took a chance to glimpse out he snarled and bared his teeth.

"What's _wrong_ ," he continued as this world's Great Deku Tree watched in silence, "is that I've sacrificed everything, clearly _will_ sacrifice everything, only to become an undead monster who's only good at bossing everyone around and giving orders. And it _all_ started with one of you. So tell me, oh _great and wise_ Deku Tree. What should I do now? What in all of your infinite wisdom should I do _now_?"

The glade fell silent. Not a leaf fluttered. Not a twig broke. No light jingles or pleasant sounds. Even the faint light filtering in from above seemed to freeze in the face of his fury. The only movement came from him. His chest heaved. Heat radiated from his skin and it caused the back of his tunic to stick, damp and condemning. If he'd been truly a child, he'd have felt greater shame than he did for being so disrespectful to a being so old and wise, but he wasn't a child. He hadn't been for a _very_ long time.

No. He was the Forgotten Hero. And he was angry, used, and so sick of himself he couldn’t stand it.

When the silence carried on and the huffing of his chest subsided, Kid snarled.

"Well?"

"I don't know," the tree finally said, and the derisive snort of cold amusement that bust out of Kid was satisfying.

"Thank you!" Kid said with a mock bow. "Oh, how I value your great wisdom. At least you had the decency not to even try this time."

The Great Deku Tree frowned, and Kid glowered. He shouldn't be here. This wasn't the place for him, not now, not ever, it never had been. Right now he hated the green he'd worn for so long. The green to remind him of all the good he'd done and that he'd been a hero. But the truth was inescapable. He’d done terrible things too. He wasn't a hero. He was only fate's great fool.

"Tell me what you've endured," the Great Deku Tree said, attempting as it always did when it felt so inclined. Kid only scoffed.

"What's there to tell? And it's not as if you care. No one cares."

"You don't mean that. You're very hurt—"

Kid laughed bitterly and let The Look out, the one that threw everyone because they didn't understand it. It was dark, and knowing, filled with experience and wisdom someone his physical age couldn't possibly possess by now. It did its job by making the Great Deku Tree pause.

"Don't try. Don't bother. I know you feel the need to impart some great wisdom upon me, but all the wisdom you and your kind have ever given me only help others."

Wooden lips pressed together. "What's wrong with helping others?"

"Nothing," Kid said, softening for just a moment, the heat ebbing. "There's not a thing wrong with helping others. Helping those that _need_ the help.” The fire rose again. “But tell me, oh Great Deku Tree. What happens when those people don't need you anymore? What happens if your life was _literally_ designed to be used as a sacrifice to help save everyone else, and once your purpose was over ... what? What then?" He scowled, his teeth clenching as thoughts he’d had for a long time burst out of him. "You cannot demand so much from someone and then just _leave_ them behind. You can't just _forget_ them and everything they've done. And you can't expect them to be happy about it. Only a saint could be content with such things, and _I'm no saint_."

A mental flash of Shade crossed his mind and he clenched his fists.

"No. No, I turn into a monster." He snorted and shook his head. "And I’m _still_ saving people."

Suddenly confusion burst through him because _why_ was Shade still saving people? Why, when Kid felt like this, when he hated himself _this much_ , had Shade taken control of their group like he had? Paired them up and sent them out in a maneuver that retook almost all of Hyrule in the span of days – a feat he knew _he_ couldn't have organized to save his life, let alone anyone else's. Why, when they were being destroyed by that final hollow, had he risen above all of them, above _Kid_ of all people, and emerged victorious, even after sacrificing his secret?

Why _was_ Shade still behaving like a hero?

Kid sprang up. He knew what he had to do now. He didn't like it, but he knew what he had to do.

"Where are you going?" the Great Deku Tree said when Kid began to leave.

"To find the person who _can_ answer my questions."

Decision made and fueled by the same fire that had erupted on the Great Deku Tree, Kid took off into the forest at a run, determined to find his older-self and get some straight answers.

Besides. Gramps still had his mask.

And he wanted it back.

* * *

**Wind**

It was the shouting that drew Wind in. After Shade had turned into a golden wolf and vanished, the rest of their group had all but collapsed. Kid was nowhere to be found, Twilight and Wild had chased after Shade, and both Sky and Time had gone back to camp, reeling from what had happened. Wind had almost gone with them but found himself lingering further and further behind until eventually ... he'd just stopped.

He didn't want to go with them. Wind didn't know what he wanted, but for the first time since he'd arrived in this strange foreign land so different from his Great Sea, he knew that the last thing he wanted to do was be with anyone else.

Truthfully, he didn't even know what he wanted, except, maybe the quiet that came with being alone.

That was a Great Sea mindset, he was sure. It came with traveling the seas for long stretches at a time with not a soul to speak to except a boat, and even then he hadn't spoken to the King of Red Lions much either. Usually he forgot that he existed when the greatness of the sea embraced him. Often he thought of himself as alone. Frankly, he was so used to being alone that all of this time spent with others had worn him out. He really liked Wild. Wild was probably his favorite of the whole group, but then he knew him best. He liked Time okay, but, well, Time was an adult. As much as he liked Time in the beginning, once they'd come together again after fighting their own demons, he was weirdly distanced and unapproachable. It was the same with all the other older ones too. In a way, they just didn't connect. They didn’t get it.

But Kid, he was different. Maybe he was just a little older than him, but Kid _was_ a kid, and that made them the same. That made them kind of partners, in this weird way that they'd all been divvied up. And he hated it because the others were already starting to place blame. On Kid, on Shade. Wind couldn't stop the gnawing unease at the pit of his stomach that was both disappointed and utterly relieved. Wind, for his part, didn't blame Kid, not for anything. Again, he wasn't so sure about Shade, but Kid? Well ...

He knew he couldn’t blame Kid.

So when he heard that scream and then saw a bolt of green streak through the forest nearby, moving faster than he thought possible, for some reason Wind didn’t hesitate. He moved toward the other boy, expending everything he had just to keep up.

"Hey!" Wind shouted, feet pounding. "Where are you going?"

Kid ignored him even though Wind saw blue eyes flicker his way. He kept going, but that made a hard nugget of anger solidify in Wind's chest and suddenly all he could think of was what Tetra would do. How she'd behave if someone did that to her, ignored her when she wanted an answer.

Maybe it was the situation, maybe it was just how stressed he was – especially after how close he and the others had come to death before Shade had saved them all – but he decided that, to hell with it all. Tetra always got what she wanted and in this situation where he had so little control, he was _done._

He threw himself at Kid, throwing them both to the ground in a rolling heap.

"Hey!" Kid screeched as he scrambled away, scowling. "What was that for!"

"To get your attention, you jerk!" Wind shot back angrily. "Don't be rude. I asked you a question."

"And I don't have to answer," Kid snapped. "What do you care anyway? Go away. Play with the wind or something and leave me alone."

He wasn't sure what came over him, but suddenly he'd thrown himself at Kid _again_ , and had given him a left hook old man Orca would have been pleased to see. It didn't do much except release a bolt of self-satisfaction, because the next instant Kid had wiggled out from under him and was on his feet, fists clenched.

"What was that for?"

"For being a jerk!" Wind spat. "You're not the only one having a hard time, Kid, and just because you are doesn't mean it gives you the right to be such an asshole. We're in this together."

"Together," Kid chuckled bitterly. "Did you forget that I almost got everyone _killed_? I _literally_ almost caused everyone's death because I thought I knew what was going on and had seen an opening—"

"You think you're the only one who saw it?" Wind demanded, ready to confess. "I almost did it myself! It was almost me who killed everyone. Me who would have been to blame. You were just faster!"

Kid blinked, clearly surprised, and Wind snapped.

"What? You thought you were the only one who noticed? You know how many stupid puzzles I had to figure out? You want to know why my aim is so good? Because on the Great Sea, you see what you need to see, or you die. We're not all idiots here, you know. Yeah, we may not have been to as many other worlds as you have, but you're not as special as I think you think you are you-you jerk!"

Wind's voice echoed through the woods, interrupting the gentle peace it was trying so hard to impress upon everything. His chest heaved and his cheeks were hot with anger, but for the first time it seemed like he'd broken through to Kid. They stared at each other, both huffing and furious with everything that was going on. More than anything, Wind wished for the familiar scent of the sea. For the unpredictable waters and the unending blue. He wanted to go back to the one place he knew that made sense to him, and now because of this boy and all these other hims and this crazy world that apparently needed _him_ for some reason, he was stuck here away from where he wanted to be. Wind wanted to go _home._

To his surprise, a smirk flashed across Kid's face. "Well, tell me how you really feel. I don't think I've heard you say so much before."

"Well, who's going to listen to me?" Wind asked defensively. "It doesn't matter what I've done or who I've saved. To everyone else, I'm just a kid like you. What do I know? I didn't even know how to ride a stupid _horse_ before I came here. _Everyone_ knows how to ride a horse. You want to know how stupid I feel every day? And it's not like anyone except Wild and Shade take me seriously."

"Shade," Kid spat, crossing his arms tight over his chest. "I'm going to kick his ass the next time I see him."

"If it'll do anything," Wind muttered. "You saw what he is—"

"I know what I saw!"

Wind's brows lifted at the bite in Kid's voice. He didn't understand why Kid was so furious with Shade, but he didn't think it had much to do with what had happened. Kid seemed to realize he was getting riled up and took a slower, calmer breath.

"I know what I saw," he said more quietly. "And I'm _still_ going to kick his ass."

Wind eyed him. "Why do you care?"

Kid pursed his lips together and glowered at the ground, and for a moment Wind was struck by how different that look made Kid seem. Older, somehow. Much older.

Weirdly enough, it reminded him of Shade.

"He knows something. Something I need to know, I just didn't realize it until ... then. I've got to find him."

"And that's where you were running off to in a hurry?" Wind asked, putting it all together. "How are you going to find him? He ran off."

"Don't know," Kid replied, that resilient flash in his eyes sparking again. "But I think I can figure it out."

"Well, if you're going, I'm coming too," Wind said, causing Kid's eyes to widen. "We're all better if there's someone watching our backs here in this crazy place. If you think I'm going to leave you alone, you're wrong. It’s dangerous to go alone."

"You don't have to do that," Kid said, and to Wind’s surprise he began to move.

"I don't have to," Wind agreed before pointedly stepping in Kid's way. "But I'm going to.

"Just stay with the others, okay, Wind?" Kid said, attempting to move around him. But Wind refused.

"Why?" he demanded. "Give me a good reason. After we all almost died, it's not safe for any of us to go out on our own like this, especially with Shade gone. What if the others are right? What if he's actually being controlled by Ganondorf? He's dead!"

Kid’s features went eerily blank.

"Do you think he's evil?"

Wind was taken aback. "Well—"

"So you've never, in all of your travels, encountered a good spirit before?"

Wind's lips pressed thin as he thought of the ancient sages, those good, old spirits who had helped him on his journey to defeat his Ganondorf.

"Shade ... all he's done is help and protect us," Kid said quietly, eyes dropping from Wind's. "I don't think he's evil or being controlled or whatever everyone else might think. I _can't_ believe it. Not after everything he's done to take back this land and keep us all alive. I don't think he's corrupted, but I have to find out what's going on. And nothing against you, Wind, but I don't think Shade will talk to me with others around."

"How do you know he'll talk to you at all?"

Kid snorted, but it wasn't aimed at Wind. "He'll talk to me."

This wasn't a good reason, it wasn't even one Wind thought was very good, but there was something about the way Kid was so resolved that made his own resolve to follow him falter. This wasn’t the first time he’d noticed it either. There was just … just something about Kid. Something he couldn’t put his finger on.

And as much as he hated it, Wind couldn’t help but believe him.

"This is so stupid. You're going to get killed," Wind sighed before he shook his head. Tetra would let Kid do it. After all, Kid had the same sort of spunk Tetra had, and if Wind knew anything, it was that there was no stopping Tetra when she was like that, and there would be no stopping Kid. But at the very least he could help him a little. He reached into his pocket. "Take this with you."

Kid's hand flashed and the next instant he’d caught a blue stone in his hand. The other boy eyed it, them him, in confusion.

"What's this?"

"Communication stone," Wind replied. "If you need help, if something happens, just hold it, think of the stone I have, and we'll be able to use them to communicate." Wind shrugged. "You never know. You might need us."

Truthfully, Wind expected Kid to toss it back. To his surprise, the other boy pocketed it. More surprising still, he gave a weak flash of a grin.

"Thanks."

Before Wind could say anything else, Kid was gone and Wind was left alone wondering if he should have gone with the other boy anyway, and if he'd done the right thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next post on Monday


	13. Teens

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy!

**Twilight**

Twilight didn’t understand what was going on. He didn't understand even half of what had happened back at the battle, he didn't understand where all of that massive power had come from, he didn't understand how something which had almost destroyed them all in a matter of seconds could be destroyed just as easily.

But more than that, he did not know why his ancestor hadn't said a word to him about still being a spirit. And why he'd just run. Without him. He thought about the blasted hollow at the Fairy Fountain and what it had said. He thought about what his father had said.

_"I just wanted to feel alive again."_

Those words were burned into his mind, and it pulled at his inner wolf. This ... _this_ was his _ancestor_. The father he'd never had, the man who'd taught him everything he knew about surviving and being a hero. Twilight had been so thrilled by the fact that he was here with him in the world, not as the golden wolf, but _real_. Someone who'd been able to embrace him. To fight with him. To depend and be depended upon. They weren't separated by form or the spirit world anymore.

At least, that's what he'd thought.

Now his entire experience of the world was thrown on edge, and given everything that had happened to him in his Hyrule, that was saying something. Did this change things? Should it change things? His Hylian mind wasn't so sure.

But his wolf? His instincts were clear and sure as ever. That was his father. He was the man who'd raised him to become the hero he was, and _what_ he was had never mattered before. And no matter what Wild said to the contrary _it didn't matter now._ Shade was Twilight’s family and he'd been hurt as much as the rest of them had, probably worse. Clearly worse.

And Twilight was going after him.

It had only taken him a moment to come to his decision, but a moment was all someone like his ancestor needed to not only breed distance between them, but a significant amount of it. Perhaps a distance Twilight couldn't bridge, not for days. A spirit did not feel pain or hunger the same way he did. Twilight would have to stop, after all, as a wolf he could only sprint for so long. His ancestor could sprint indefinitely. His ancestor knew the impossible spirit ways.

Twilight might never be able to catch up.

But he had to try. Leaving the others behind, he dove into the forest, changing forms the moment the shadows closed in around him. He could hear the others yelling for him, trying to call him back, trying to understand just _what_ had happened because the fight had only just ended. There was still so much that needed to happen.

It was cruel of him, he knew that. It was also selfish, and yes, it would damn him. But he'd come here as an option. He'd been given a choice, and he'd made his decision for selfish reasons he would not be ashamed of. He was here to find a way into the Twilight Realm. And just as selfishly, he was now here to help his father who he suspected _hadn’t_ been given a choice either. The terrors of this world, they were horrible, that was true, but this wasn't his land. This wasn't his Hyrule, his home, not that even _his_ Hyrule had been his home either.

His home wasn't a place, it never had been. They were people. And he'd saved one of his people. She was safe in the Twilight Realm. What he wanted to do now was go to the only family he had left. No matter what.

The ground blurred under his paws as he followed the fresh, familiar scent of the golden wolf, but already his sharp nose could tell that there was already so much distance between them, even when the head start had been so short. It wasn't long before he burst out of the forest and into flatter lands, but already Twilight’s lungs heaved and his tongue lulled out. He scented the air, his ears swiveled, his eyes searched and searched, but already any track he might follow was gone and the golden wolf was nowhere to be seen.

A whimper slipped from his throat as he circled, trying to decide where to go because where _would_ his father go? To the plateau? To a Great Fairy? Somewhere else?

The sound of feet on the ground behind him caused him to jerk his head up and growl, teeth bared and hackles raised. He knew who it was before he saw him, the wind had shifted enough to bring his scent forward, and Twilight was _not_ pleased. It could have been any of the other Links, it could even have been Kid, but no. It was _him_.

Wild.

Wild burst through the trees and onto the path quickly dropping into dusk, and his eyes widened in alarm the moment the native knight saw him. A sword was immediately in Wild’s hand and a warning growl echoed deep in Twilight’s chest. This was the Link that had said the worst things. The most untrue. That his father was a _traitor_.

If Wild attacked, Twilight would tear him limb from limb.

"It's you, isn't it?" Wild said, and for the first time Twilight noticed that slate of his in his free hand. The one that could show where they all were and who they were. "Listen, I'm not going to attack you. I just—"

Wild moved and Twilight dug his claws into the dirt, lifted his tail high and snarled a vicious warning. He was not here to play, not now, _not at all_. The other Link froze.

"I'm just going to put my sword away," Wild said as steadily as he could, and from here Twilight could smell the sour scent of sweat and fear, and was silently pleased. That was the proper response to a true threat, and it satisfied him to know that Wild was taking him seriously. "I just want to talk. What happened with Shade—"

A flash of fury ripped through Twilight and he snapped his jaws loudly at Wild to silence him. This was ridiculous, he was wasting time, _so much time_. Time he needed to find his father and _understand_. Be there for him just like Shade had been there for him in their world.

And this one Link had been the one to fill everyone with thoughts of treason.

It made him burn. He was more than offended, he was furious both on behalf of his father and for himself. If his father was a traitor, manipulated by the beast they were working so hard to destroy – as hard as any of them! – then there was no way Twilight was faultless. They were of the same blood, they moved and burned the same way. Their own pack.

"Please," Wild said, trying again while the wild energy in his blood made Twilight begin pacing, eyes locked and head low, waiting. "I need to talk to you, that's all I want to do. We-I need to understand this—"

"What's there to understand, Wild?" Twilight snapped, shifting forms like breathing, the burn and slide of transformation soothing and righteous next to the fire of his rage. He was a feral thing now, the true beast among them, and he could see it in the way Wild stepped back and his hand once again dropped to the pommel of his sword, eyes wide. His ancestor had never flinched from him. His father had only ever embraced him with understanding and awareness. Taught him everything he knew with patience, care, and love. He'd had that in spades here, not only with Twilight, but with the others too. Wisdom. Respect. Admiration.

After so long his father had been given recognition. Proper recognition by more than just Twilight, and this Link _dashed it all_.

"Listen—"

"You listen," Twilight growled, the beast in his voice still close and threatening. His nails still hard and sharp, so close to claws. "The disrespect you showed after the battle is not something I will _ever_ forget. That man? He is my ancestor. My mentor. The man who trained me and helped me save Hyrule. He is my family! My _father._ And _you._ " Twilight's voice was ragged with fury and unbidden his nails fully sharpened to claws and he recalled every moment in twilight as a wolf. All the power of his animal body and the devastation he could bring with it. "You called him a _traitor_! He saved us all!"

"He's not alive!" Wild shouted back, surprising him with a stubborn reaction Twilight hadn’t thought existed in him. "What was I supposed to think?"

"That he was one of us!" Twilight snarled as he paced angrily again. "That he kept us all safe. He saved our lives by revealing himself – even to me! You've shamed him for nothing!" His rage was climbing higher. All he could see was red. "You could've thought anything other than—!"

"Are you hungry?"

The question caught Twilight off guard, so much so that the next words out of his mouth were said thoughtlessly.

"I'm not going to eat you, if that's what you're worried about—"

"No! No, that's not what I mean, though thanks, I guess.” Wild’s lips tensed before he forced himself to take a slow breath. “I just meant that-listen. When I'm nervous or bothered, I cook to steady my nerves. I'm asking because Shade is gone, it's night and we can't see anything—"

"Trust me," Twilight said, letting his eyes flash, hinting at his night-vision. "I can."

"But can you find him?" Wild pressed, eyes hard. "You can search for him all you want, but if I've learned anything about Shade since this whole mess started, it's that he has a lot of tricks up his sleeve. I'm pretty sure if he doesn't want to be found, he won't be. Not even by you."

"But you," Twilight said, as he realized what the other Link was saying. "You have that slate. You can find him."

"Yes. And I will help you, you have my word,” Wild promised. “But it's never smart to roam my world's wilds at night. We should make camp. Eat. Rest while we can because I doubt we'll get much of a chance to soon."

"That's wasting time," he growled.

"It's being smart," Wild shot back, lifting his chin. "We just ended a battle that nearly killed all of us. I have no idea where the rest are, and whether I like it or not, finding Shade is a priority. And the best chance we have of finding him is if you and I team up to find him. But we can't _do_ that if we're already on our last legs. I mean, look at you!"

Twilight's lip twitched with the edge of a wolfish snarl, but the question did bring him back to his body for the first time since his ancestor took off that strange mask at the end of the violent battle. His body ached, his chest heaved, the tips of his fingers tingled and his hands shook. Wounds ached bitterly all across his body and he knew that once the battle rush wore off, he'd collapse.

"Rest," Wild urged, tone quieting. "We both need to. We'll talk and I promise once dawn comes we will start searching for Shade."

Twilight hated the logic behind Wild's words, but the other hero was right. If his father didn't want to be found, he had a snowball's chance at Death Mountain of finding him, even with his sharper senses. But Wild's slate could find his father. He would need the other hero to do it.

"Fine."

His words were short, response clear, and although the scent in the air changed to reflect Wild's relief, Twilight could barely stand it himself. Taking this break felt too much like giving up on his ancestor, a man who'd never given up on him, even at his lowest.

But how could he possibly find his father when the man who'd taught Twilight everything he knew didn't want to be found?

Like it or not, Wild was the only sure way, short of spending more time than he could afford searching the four corners of this Hyrule on his own. He had to play it smart. And if that meant indulging this Link, then that was what he would do.

But he would not like it. And if something happened to his ancestor because of _this?_ Well.

He knew whose neck he'd sink his teeth into.

* * *

**Wild**

Wild stared at the campfire and the pot bubbling over it and tried to contain his nerves. It irked him that after all this time and everything he'd done, he felt this way. He was the Hero of Courage for crying out loud. Nothing should bother him like this. He _hated_ that so much of what was going on bothered him enough that he needed to take a time out to get himself straight before he made one more move. Frankly, he wasn't even sure why he was so bothered.

Every corner of Hyrule had been saved and relieved of their hollows. All of the Fairy Fountains were free. The Korok Forest was free. The Master Sword could be recharged again and he had no doubt if he wanted to teleport to the other side of Hyrule right now using the slate, he could. All that was left now was to fight Ganondorf. With so much success so quickly, he should feel on top of the world. Summoning more Links to assist them had been a powerful move. He couldn't have done all of this on his own, and not as fast as they had together.

So why was it that anxiety and the knifepoint of panic twisted his insides when he glanced up to find Twilight's ice-cold gaze watching him from across the fire, half-shrouded in darkness like he belonged there. Or when he thought about how the last battle went.

When he thought about the old Link. Shade.

Their fire was the only thing to see for what felt like miles, and never more than now did he wish he was alone. He'd spent so much time alone, staring at campfires, wishing for company. For a better world filled with peace and safety. But now he wanted nothing more than to be rid of his current company. Wild had always been quiet, and he'd always noticed Twilight kept to himself for the most part, almost as quiet as him, always staring off into shadows when he wasn’t in them himself.

He realized now that the quiet the other Link possessed wasn't quiet at all, but brutal silence. Twilight hadn't said a word since Wild began making dinner. He'd only worked to patch himself up, check his supplies, but now that that was done he glowered bitterly without a word. Wild wished he was alone.

Instead he filled the space with words.

"How long have you been the Hero of Courage?" Wild asked as his eyes stayed locked on the fire.

Twilight was still eyeing him like he was trying to decide if he wanted to stab him. To his relief Twilight’s eyes dropped to the fire, though the deep, angry frown on his face didn't lift. Like that, he could see it. The familial resemblance between Shade and Twilight. Twilight might have darker hair and a different hairstyle, but the way they brooded was identical.

"I was awoken as the Hero of Courage a year ago," he said softly. "I'd grown up in a small village in the Ordona Province. I had a house in a tree. Friends. A horse. And then I had to go to the castle and that's when everything changed. I didn't even know what I was or what I was doing, not until my ancestor found me and told me. Trained me." His eyes narrowed at the fire, and Wild was sure the glower was meant for him. "He taught me how to be a hero, and it was by his guidance that I defeated the Ganondorf of my world."

"In this world," Wild said, looking up at the sky where the stars shown beautiful and watching. "Everyone knows the legend. My father, he was a knight, you see, and with the pressure to prepare for Calamity Ganon should he ever arise, every child was checked to see if they carried the Triforce of Courage. Boy, girl, it didn't matter. Princess Zelda had been born with the Triforce of Wisdom upon her hand, and soon after the search for me started." Wild glanced down. "I don't remember a time when I wasn't Farore's Chosen. It's been my entire life."

He waited for Twilight to say something, but the other Link had fallen into his cold silence. His eyes were sharp though, and if his wolf ears had still been out, Wild was sure they'd have been directed his way.

"I've grown up with the knowledge that one day I would have to fight and defeat a monster of legend with the help of the princess," Wild continued. "There hasn't been _one day_ I've been free of the weight of that responsibility. Neither the princess or I. She had it worse than I did. Her father, the king, was ... harsh and relentless. But the way I was brought up was with a sword in my hand from a very young age, and with stories of monsters. Monsters that could kill me. Monsters that could kill others. Stories of Ganon and what he could do if his evil were to pass.” Memories of his childhood surged through him, turning his chest cold. “Can you imagine what that's like?"

Twilight at least had the grace to look away. "Admittedly, no. But it sounds like a great deal of responsibility."

"I've been the hero of this world for seventeen years," Wild said, before he snorted, shook his head, and corrected himself. "No. I've been the hero of this world for one hundred and seventeen years. I was forced to sleep for my own recovery for one hundred of it because I _failed_ the first time. The weight of this world and its people, I think about it every day. How I failed. How even on the brink of success, I _keep failing_."

"Failure is to give up entirely," Twilight said softly, still avoiding his gaze. "You've yet to do that."

"There's not much left to do, other than to die." Wild stirred the pot with its contents and he knew he'd put the ingredients in wrong in his thoughtlessness. It was starting to look ... obscene. "I'm ... sensitive to anything which might further this final round of failure, Twilight. All I see are threats to the survival of this world."

"And my father looked like a threat," Twilight said, tone cool and hard despite the wry smile on his face. His teeth gleamed in the light, wolf-like. "Despite everything he's done to help us. It's because of him that we all were able to face the minor hollows. It's been his leadership, and then his strength, that saved us all from defeat in the forest. And yet you still called him a traitor."

The word fell out of Twilight's mouth with such viciousness that Wild was sure that while they might work together, he'd affronted the other hero so badly that they might never be able to be friends after this. He hadn't known – he didn't think anyone had known – that they were family, directly related by blood, even if Shade had been dead. That wasn't his fault of course, not knowing. But he knew familial love and loyalty when he saw it. He'd seen it in the way Twilight had tried to stop Shade from leaving, and then the soft way Shade had spoken to him, so unlike how he spoke to the rest of them.

They were family, and Wild had stepped on that in his fear.

But he wouldn't apologize for it. His sensitivity toward danger was what kept him and his people safe. He knew it was a dangerous thing to say, but he had to say it.

"So you're absolutely sure there's no way Ganondorf could've corrupted him? The dead are his to control in this world, they always are, driven by his power and magic. How can you be sure?"

"Because," Twilight said, that animal growl rolling deep in his throat, his eyes flashing. "Who summoned him? Or do you doubt your princess?"

A sharp flare of loyalty whipped through Wild. "Of course I don't doubt her—!"

"You must if you're asking a question like that," Twilight said before rising to his feet, turning away. "Hers is the power to summon forth what was needed to help you stop your Ganondorf. My ancestor ... he was moving on. Finally, he had the chance to move on from this world, _find peace_ after so long. But he came back because your princess called. He came back because this world needed help. Because all he's ever been his whole life, _longer than you or any of us_ , is be a hero."

Twilight moved further into the darkness, and Wild jumped to his feet, alarmed.

"Where are you going?"

"Away," Twilight replied, his voice more animalistic with each step, his eyes glowing in the darkness from the fire's light. Like that, he looked like a monster, and it was all Wild could do to tamp down on the urge to reach for his sword. "But don’t worry. Eat. Rest. I’ll be back. In the morning you will help me find my father."

Suddenly he slipped entirely into shadow and Wild could only make out the strange and uncomfortable shift of something Hylian into something beast. The next moment a wolf shot off into the surrounding lands, the echo of a chain rattling with every lope.

It was only once the beast was out of sight and he could no longer hear the sound of chains that he finally swallowed the lump of fear in his throat and sat down again to work with the food. It was unsalvageable, completely disgusting, and he had no choice but to throw it out and start again. Alone at last he began to relax. With no one there to watch him, to judge him, to shame him and remind him of all the failures he'd committed, it was easier to breathe. Alone like this, he could almost imagine that nothing was wrong. After all, the Divine Beasts and the Fairy Fountains were free. The Korok Forest didn't feel like the air weighed heavier than it should at his back. Things almost felt right and normal, and he found all he wanted to do was ... collect ingredients. Fight monsters. Explore the land he was meant to protect. Find all of its secrets. Make incredible food.

He knew he wouldn't, but all he wanted to do in that moment was run away.

Rustling in the bushes tore at his attention, and he was on his feet, sword in hand in an instant, prepared for an attack – maybe even for wolfish teeth. But to his relief it was only a boy dressed in blue, and never had he been so relieved to see another of their number.

"It's just me," Wind said, raising his hands after seeing Wild's sword drawn and pointed at him. "There aren't any monsters."

"Sorry," Wild said, drawing a hand down his face in pure fatigue before resheathing his sword. "Sorry, I'm just ... do you want to eat?"

Wind's eyes brightened and a grin he hadn't expected, one he hadn't realized he'd needed, crossed the boy's face. "Do I ever! Did you make it?"

"I always make it," Wild said with a small smile before motioning Wind over. "It's just a simple soup."

"Your food's the best. I mean, not as good as my grandma's, but it's still pretty great."

Wild’s smile grew more real and soon he ladled out a serving for both himself and the younger hero. As always, food revived him. It didn't solve all of his problems, but for the time being it made things better, if only a little. Wind seemed to revive as well, though his eyes kept lifting as if he expected to see something.

"Something the matter?" Wild asked once they were done. He'd taken their bowls to quickly clean them out. Now that food was out of the way, the pressure of everything that had happened crept up on him, and while he was uncomfortable about a lot of things, he felt more himself with the small boy.

"It's nothing, just ... it's nothing." Wind sighed and shook his head. "Just worried about everyone is all."

Wild stared at the fire. Now Wind looked at him, eyes studying, and Wild knew it would come.

"You okay?" Wind asked seriously and Wild resisted the urge to sigh. How had his best friend of all of the Links available become this small boy with more courage than he'd ever seen in anyone?

"I'll be all right," he promised, pulling at the meager strength he still had to summon the smallest of smiles. But it didn't hold. Instead, he couldn't stop himself from quietly asking, "Have I made a mistake? In accusing Shade, I mean."

"I don't know," Wind replied, wrapping his arms around his knees as he watched the campfire burn. "Everything's so much bigger than I'm used to, Wild. So much more complicated. I mean, I've talked to spirits before, so I know they can be good. But what Shade was—" A small shiver shook his narrow shoulders, and Wild was relieved at least to see he wasn't the only one so affected.

"But you were willing to see past that," Wild muttered. "I wasn't."

"This is your world. It makes sense that you're protective of it,” Wind said sagely. “Finding out you're the hero that has to protect everyone and everything, it does that to you, I think. The Hero of Legend was only a bedtime story on my island, and I wore the green just because I'd come of age. Every boy on the island does it.” Wind shrugged. “It wasn't supposed to _mean_ anything. But then my sister was kidnapped, and a talking ship helped me find the Master Sword. And before I knew it, I had to save my sea and all the people who lived in it, or everyone would die. I kept making all these strides toward freeing everyone, but I was so _afraid_ that I'd missed something. That I wasn't strong enough. That I had to destroy _every_ threat—"

The boy's words lodged in his throat, and it struck Wild hard that this boy, this courageous, young hero, was so _young_. Wind was only ten years old. Could he have done what Wind had done at that age?

Wind swallowed. "I know how easy it is to get sucked in. I think we all do, so I don't blame you for how you reacted."

"Twilight begs to differ."

Wind shot him a look. "Did you know they were related?"

"I don't think anyone knew they were related," Wild sighed. "I'm pretty sure Twilight's just waiting to sink his teeth into me."

Wind abruptly scrubbed his face, agitated. "This is all so crazy, Wild. I'm just an island kid. None of this makes _sense_ to me. I don't even know why I'm here."

Wild stared at the boy next to him, and he knew why Wind was here. He had ever since the desert. Courage. Kindness. An innocent and steady heart. Wild couldn't help but smile.

"I don't know what I'd do without you, Wind."

And that pulled a small smile from the boy because it was true. Wild would've probably died out in the desert without the boy. Would never have made it to Vah Naboris and freed the desert. Probably wouldn’t be working through this now without him.

"Thanks, Wild."

Wild smiled more genuinely before nudging the boy with his elbow. "Have you ever had a caramel apple before?"

Wind's eyes widened. "No."

"You want me to make one?"

Suddenly the small hero was just a kid again, and a grin cracked across his face. "Uh, yeah? Of course I do!"

It was a quick fix to lighten the mood, but they were both willing to take it, and for the rest of the evening they didn't speak about the future or the problems they'd have to deal with once the sun rose.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next post on Thursday


	14. Adults

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy!

**Sky**

Sky idly stroked his loftwing's beak, letting her presence calm the ever-present burn in his chest since there was little else that possibly could. She was his only connection to home, the only thing that helped make this horrible nightmare slightly more bearable.

If just.

Behind him the sound of Time stroking his whetstone along the edge of his blade added a rhythmic sound to the air, one that was soothing for the protection it implied, and relaxing for its familiarity. With the boys vanished to the winds and the younger knights thundering after that monster, Shade, he and Time felt the best thing they could do was recuperate while they were able. The others might have been filled with a need for action, but he was relieved to find that Time craved solitude to contemplate their next move as he did. Running off now, wasting time and energy would get them nowhere. They needed to pause and regroup.

But if he was being completely honest, he was glad that, right now, he was with Time and _only_ Time. He and Time meshed well, the other man easily the Link he preferred over the others. He was mature and calm. Experienced and old enough that they were peers.

Thus far they hadn't said a word to each other since they'd agreed to go back to camp, but there was always a flow to everything, and he could feel the solitude coming to an end. With Shade gone, a new leader would have to be chosen and he had no qualms about it being Time. He had the composure and steady care of a leader, and while he appreciated what Shade had helped them accomplish so far, he quietly agreed with Wild. Shade wasn't alive, and the dead of this world appeared to be under control of this Ganondorf. The Link of this world was _right_ to accuse the ancient, despite everything.

He had to be. Any threat that could possibly prevent them from succeeding, prevent him from getting back home to Zelda and his unborn child, was to be avoided.

"What’s on your mind, brother," Time finally said, and when Sky glanced toward him, a kind smile was on the other man’s lips. "Or, at least, your glower is formidable. I gather you're angry."

"I'm always angry these days. But right now I’m more frustrated than anything," he admitted with a sigh, giving one final stroke to his loftwing's beak before pulling away from her familiar plumage to join Time at the fire. "This is a setback."

"It is ... unexpected," Time agreed, his eyes dropping once again to his sword, but only so he could wipe it clean and resheath it. "And unfortunate. Shade was a good leader, but the threat he poses ... it's problematic."

"So you think he's a threat as well?" Sky asked, leaning forward to press his elbows into his knees and his chin into his fingers. "We can't trust him."

"Threat, yes," Time agreed. "Trust? Again, it's difficult to say. But it also hardly matters at this point. He's gone and I'll be surprised if he returns. What we need to focus on now is defeating Ganondorf and figuring out how to do that with what resources remain. Which of us Links that will fight, and who we can trust."

Sky frowned.

"You're talking about Twilight?"

"And perhaps Kid," Time added, surprising him. Sky's eyebrows rose.

"What do you mean? What's Kid got to do with anything? Besides almost getting us all killed."

Time frowned. "It's just a hunch, really. There's something about Kid and Shade that's never sat well with me, and I'm wary of anything that child does. And given the filial nature between Twilight and Shade, we would expect little help from him should Wild's accusations prove to be true."

"You think he won't fight with us?" It was a thought he hadn't had before. Why wouldn't Twilight fight with the rest of them? It was true, family was important, but he had fought a version of this Ganondorf. Twilight knew what the stakes were, and he had to know if he couldn't help them, then he'd never get back home. "Why wouldn't he?"

Time's eyes glanced his way before he asked, "Have you ever heard him say he wanted to return to his world? I traveled with him and Kid, and while Kid made it clear that this sort of situation is quite normal for him and he doesn't have a home to return to so he travels constantly, Twilight said very little about his world. And nothing about returning to it."

"Did you ask him about it?" Sky asked. "Twilight's one of the quiet ones."

"I did ask, yes," Time replied. "But he always deflected. Never addressed the question. He'd talk about his home sometimes, that's true, but he's never once mentioned a desire to return to his world. And I can't help but ask myself why that might be." Time stared at the fire. "Can you think of reasons?"

They shouldn't be doing this, accusing the others and talking about them like there were traitors among them. But with so much on the line, so much that could threaten any chance he might have of making it back home to his family, he couldn't help but have doubts. And how could he be wrong, when Time, the calmest and most level-headed of them, was having these same doubts as well?

Sky licked his lips and laid out his most insidious and persistent concern. "Do you think we're all who we seem we are?"

Time's eyes locked on his, but he didn't appear to be surprised. He must have thought the same thing too. "You mean, are we all heroes of our worlds?"

Sky nodded. "I believe some of us are. Wind doesn't seem to have a devious bone in his body, and his earnest concern for everything? I'm certain he's not lying. He's one of Farore's Chosen. I have no doubt about that. And this is Wild's world. All he's wanted from the beginning is what the rest of us have already succeeded in and endured. But Kid, Twilight, and Shade ..."

"It's hard to believe Kid's tall-tales, Twilight's silence, and now Shade's nature." Time paused before adding quietly, "You aren't concerned about me?"

Sky couldn't help but smile. "Of everyone, I believe you. You've been nothing but loyal. Honorable. Willing. You've helped keep everyone on track. You only want to go home, and what can I say? I like you out of everyone else here."

"It could all be a trick," Time said with a wry grin, teasing.

"You tell me that you only want what's best for us all. You want Hyrule – all Hyrule's – to be stable and peaceful. And I believe you, Time. Every time you tell me what your dreams are, what you want so we can all be free and safe, I believe you. You're not lying.” Sky arched a brow. “But now I have to pose the question to you. How do you know about me?"

"I suppose one can never be certain," Time replied. "But while there's no way to prove you are Farore's Chosen, I know beyond a doubt that you desire ardently to return home. It is somewhat strange that you saved your world without having to face a Ganon or Ganondorf," he admitted before he arched an eyebrow curiously. "I know you're a Hero of Courage. But what did you have to defeat to save your world?"

In all the directions this conversation could have turned, this was one Sky had not expected. He knew he was a hero. With Fi at his side, he'd reclaimed the entire surface from the devastation of a demon. He'd time traveled. He'd done so many things, and he still bore scars both of mind and flesh from the ordeal. For years he'd struggled to put it all behind him by filling his life with light, progress, and happiness with Zelda.

But thoughts of the dark evil he had vanquished were never far from his mind. Of how much had ridden on his shoulders and his ability with a sword. How small he was as he risked being crushed under the feet of an evil giant.

Sky still woke up screaming sometimes, screaming for Fi, screaming in fear. It was only Zelda's calming touch that could pull him out of his memories and remind him that that time was over.

If he couldn't find a way back, he would never have that again. It was one of the many little things that he'd come to depend upon in his domesticated life on the surface. The small things that saved him.

"I fought a demon ... or a god. Sometimes it seems as if it was both," Sky finally said, his voice hanging in the still air longer than was comfortable. "Honestly, the way things are here in this world? This ... it all feels so much like when I fought Demise. That was the monster I had to fight to free my world." Sky sighed. "I don't know much about this Ganondorf you all have fought. There was no such person in my Hyrule. But there was the demon, Demise. And he was ... it was terrible."

To Sky's surprise, Time paused and slowly looked at him.

"The demon, Demise?"

Sky nodded. "He was an incarnation of pure evil and darkness who'd been sealed, but the seal had been broken. I had to fight him, and with Zelda's help, defeat him."

"And you did?" Time asked. "Defeat him?"

Sky nodded. "I had to. Otherwise I couldn't have saved Zelda. The surface world would have been destroyed, and so would my home, Skyloft. Everyone I knew would have been plunged into death and darkness. Defeating Demise was the hardest thing I've ever done." A swell of panic began bubbling within his chest, the same panic that woke him up screaming at night. Abruptly, Sky clenched his fists to ground himself. "Sorry, I just-I can't talk much about that time in my life."

"I'm sorry. It was not my intention to bring you pain," Time said gently, eyes filled with understanding. "It sounds like you faced something unspeakable."

Sky sighed. "Maybe that's the point of being the Hero of Courage. To face the unspeakable when no one else can or will."

"But surely it's not all bad now?" Time asked. "I have to hope that you're in a better place after everything you faced. I know the struggle. It is not easy to come to terms with what happened and find happiness. I pray there is good in your life, brother."

Brother. Sky couldn't help but smile at that because they were brothers of a kind. Time _was_ his favorite of the Links, and for good reason. They got along so well, understood each other on the same level. It was nice to have that sort of understanding and support. He had it from his Zelda, but there was something relieving about venting to another of Farore's Chosen Heroes. Since coming here, he hadn’t wanted to talk about Zelda or his family directly, not with any of them, but he found he couldn't help but share with Time.

"There is good," he admitted, letting the small smile grow wider across his face as he thought of his life as it was with great fondness. "After I defeated Demise, Zelda and I moved to the surface world, to our own Hyrule. We've been helping rebuild the surface. Ridding it of lingering darkness. We've even built a house together, and we have a farm. Cows. Cuccos. It's ... domestic, but it's more than I could ever dream of."

"It sounds like you and your Zelda are quite close," Time said with a smile.

"We're married," Sky admitted, ruffling the back of his hair, both embarrassed to admit it when so many of the Links appeared to not have the same type of relationship with their Zeldas, but also so very proud because he _did_. "She's been the love of my life even before Demise and Hylia and ... well, everything. I can't wait for the day we have children, even if the thought sometimes scares me more than Demise did sometimes." He grinned at Time. "Do you have a sweetheart? All this conversation about me, I can't help but wonder about you?"

For the first time, Time seemed surprised, and it was his turn to glance away shyly. "A sweetheart? Not exactly. Not … not anymore. And while there is a Princess Zelda in my world, the relationship we have is not one I would say will ever develop romantically, which is quite all right by me. In truth? After so much time, all of Hyrule has become my great love. Its people my family. One day, perhaps, I'll have a family. But for now?" Time glanced up at the sky, his eyes full of hope and dreams for the future. A future Sky could only imagine. "There's still so much I need to do before that. I must do it. You understand?"

"I do," Sky agreed. "How can you dream of a peaceful life when so much still depends on you. But don't forget that there _is_ more after that, waiting for you. Happiness is there. We can't carry the load forever. Others are there to share it too."

Time snorted derisively, an odd flash crossing his eyes, and Sky was for a moment taken aback. That wasn’t the response he’d been expecting at all, but then Time smiled at him, and he was sure he imagined it.

"Perhaps you're right," Time said. "There are others there who will need to carry the load. I have to allow for that. It's merely ... difficult to do so, when there are so many concerns to consider. But I'm at least relieved that you and I are on the same page, and that of the concerns we face, you are among the least of them."

Sky couldn't help but chuckle. "I can't wait to go home, Time."

Time held his gaze. "I will make sure you get home, Sky. I hope you believe that."

Sky stared at Time, this calm, collected Link, and couldn't help but smile because, yes. Yes, he did believe that if it was in Time’s power, he would send him home. It was right there in his eyes. Time would do what he said. He would succeed.

"Thanks, brother."

"You have a wife waiting for you. Hopefully a family in the future," Time replied gently. "It's the least I can do."

For weeks since they'd been stranded in this world, Sky had felt less like himself than he ever had, uptight, angry, bothered, but now, after talking with Time, _believing_ in Time, his own concerns felt like they were easing away.

Because if there was a Link in their number who Sky thought could save this world and send them all home, it was him. Time.

And Sky would do whatever he could to help him.

* * *

**Time**

Dawn came and although Time had slept poorly, it hardly mattered. He was focused. He'd spent the time thinking, working through the situation, the reality of this world and those who'd been summoned. In the early hours when there was little to do except listen to Sky and his loftwing breathe deep with sleep and the forest creatures prowl through the grasses but never close enough to matter, his mind kept turning.

Kid and Shade. His biggest questions concerned them, and now more than anything, he wanted them here. He wanted to talk to them, to understand their histories, where they came from.

What _time_ they came from.

He was the Hero of Time. He could never overlook time and its nuances. Time was _never_ an impossibility for him. Except, unfortunately, now with the Ocarina of Time sealed as it was.

Which was also why Sky was beyond important – radiantly important, if Time was correct about his suspicions, which he was certain he was.

Demise. Sky had fought Demise, a creature of legend in his world. A monster of impossibility. The evil many thought would be reincarnated in the form of the Boar. The First Incarnation.

If there was one thing Time was familiar with, it was the intricacies of time itself. With everything that had come about in the last few hours alone, he realized that perhaps he'd judged the situation incorrectly. Grossly. He'd assumed that they were all from different worlds, but worlds that existed at the same time as his own. Seven separate worlds all existing next to each other but at the same point and pace in time.

Now, thinking back to how Twilight had called Shade father, how Time could not stop staring at Kid for how similar he appeared to his own childhood, and now this idle mention of the Demon Demise Sky had fought, he wondered now if time as he understood it was at play here. If there weren't seven separate worlds, but only a few. Maybe, in fact, only one or two.

He wondered, now, if the truth was that they hadn't been called from separate worlds, but also from different moments in time. A notion which complicated and changed everything.

By the time they broke camp and climbed aboard Sky's loftwing to find the others, Time's mind was set. A plan was carefully in place, one which accounted for as many contingencies as he could anticipate. All he had to do was get to the others and convince them to let him take the lead.

Which, things as they were, did not seem like a difficult task.

"There. I see them," Sky said as he glanced over his loftwing's red feathers to the ground below. Dawn was barely on the horizon, but Time could see the campfire below as clearly as the other Link, and soon they were descending. Their arrival caused a great gust to whip around the small campground two of their number had created, and as they landed, both Wild's and Wind's eyes peered groggily at them.

"Good morning," Time said, sliding off the bird to stand before them. "I'm glad we found you. Where are Twilight and Kid?"

"Um," Wind muttered, quickly glancing at Wild, but all Wild could do was shake his head.

"No one knows where Kid is. He just took off, we think after Shade. And Twilight's—"

"I'm here."

In a nearby tree, the quiet Link peered at them with eyes that flashed in the firelight. With animal grace he slipped down and all but prowled toward them, eyes narrowed and hard. Distrusting.

Unfortunate, but not unpredicted.

"Before you say anything," Twilight said, surprising him by breaking the silence before he could. A bolt of irritation slithered through Time’s chest, but he kept his composure. "We're finding my father."

"I wasn't going to suppose otherwise," Time replied as Sky dropped down beside him, flanking him. A clear display of allegiance.

Good.

Twilight’s eyes narrowed.

"I only want to make sure we defeat Ganondorf and can all return to our worlds," Time said calmly. "Isn't that what you want?"

It was a test, and Time wasn't sure if he was surprised or not when Twilight kept silent, his glower intensifying.

"As I was saying," he carried on. "We were summoned to fight Ganondorf together. I can only assume that we need everyone, and so we must go after Shade. And Kid," Time said. "No matter what Shade might be, the fact of the matter is that he was summoned as well. He's one of Farore's Chosen, dead or otherwise and when the call was made, he answered it. We all reacted perhaps too quickly. We must get to the bottom of this."

"Then let's go," Twilight said, crossing his arms and waiting. "Or is there something else?"

Time frowned, his irritation growing.

"Wild must charge the Master Sword once again, now that the forest is freed and Ganondorf's darkness vanquished. It is largely why we started this quest in the first place. The sooner we charge the Master Sword, the better." Time paused, staring at them all, even the cool eyes of Twilight. "Because I believe it will be sooner rather than later that we will face Ganondorf. And the reality might be that we will not find Shade or Kid at all, before it happens. We must be ready."

"We will be ready," Sky said firmly, a clear and supportive second which Time appreciated. It made things easier that Sky was on his side. Wild had always deferred since their arrival, but Wild was friends with Wind, and that helped ease the uncertainty that was etched in the boy's face once Wild nodded in agreement. Such support outnumbered Twilight and his dedicated loyalty to his father, alienating him and rendering him more silent than usual.

He didn't like the way the young knight eyed him, like he could see something impossible, but it hardly mattered. The majority were willing to do as he wished, and Wild had the slate. If Twilight wanted to find his father, he would have to help them as Time saw fit.

And that was all he needed. Numbers and strength to fight Ganondorf. Numbers to protect Sky.

And then he wouldn't need any of them at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next post on Monday, and it's a little naughty~


	15. Wager

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there! Hope you're all doing well and that you're enjoying the story :]
> 
> Just wanted to touch base with you all and let you know that this chapter gets a little naughty toward the middle of the chapter. Nothing super explicit but there are dicks and there's touching, so fair warning~
> 
> Enjoy!

**Shade**

Shade took off his helmet and threw it with all the rage he had at the ruined stone wall, and although it smashed there and left a crater, it still wasn't enough. He’d been running for hours, practically to the center of the kingdom already, and he couldn't get the look the others had given him out of his head. He couldn't stop thinking about how utterly _foolish_ they all were, not his son, but especially _Kid_.

The rage threatened to eat him alive.

"Impressive," a low voice said from out of the shadows. "I never thought one of Farore's Chosen could carry such fury."

Instinct, training, and that unbridled fury which had just been mentioned caused Shade to react. Twisting around, his bow was drawn and an arrow knocked, lifetimes of experience at his fingers. It didn’t matter that it had been hours and he was still coming off the power high that came with using the Fierce Deity Mask to save the kids. When he saw who was watching him from the shadows, he was more than happy to have an appropriate target to lash at with it. Shade's voice was low and menacing.

"Ganondorf."

"The elder," Ganondorf said pleasantly, tilting his head in a mock bow as his golden eyes danced.

Shade didn't hesitate. He let a series of arrows fly, one after the other, and each landed with a satisfying thud in the Gerudo King's chest. Blood wept from the wounds and he saw the pinch of pain in his enemy’s face, but it hardly mattered when all Ganondorf did was rip them out like irritating thorns.

"I suppose it's best we get this out of the way, then." His teeth flashed white and feral with the same old hate flooding Shade's chest. Gold glinted in red hair as muscles shifted below brown skin, ready to destroy. "Shall we?"

They fought.

Shade wasn't sure how long they fought for. It felt like an instant. It might have been days. All he knew was that he had lifetimes worth of rage stored within himself, pain he'd forced himself to ignore through his long afterlife, which now had both ability and target to be unleashed. He could end the fight. He could end it now, save this Hyrule as he'd saved his and Termina's and so many others. The kids didn’t have to do anything else. After all, he was the oldest, the strongest, the wisest and most broken. Defeating this beast was his burden to bear.

That was until he realized that Ganondorf was healing. Healing the same way he did.

The Gerudo must have noticed Shade's realization because his feral grin widened with animalistic glee. A powerful spell flared to life in his dark hand. "That's right, Hero! No need to hold back."

Energy unlike anything he'd ever experienced slammed into him. If he'd been truly alive, Shade knew he'd have died from such an attack. But he wasn't alive, and neither was this Ganondorf for that matter. He was as undead as Shade was.

It amazed Shade how such a simple piece of knowledge unlocked a part of him he hadn't even realized he'd been holding onto. Some need or decorum, a reverence of life even against a nemesis. But this Ganondorf could not die any more than he could. He could only experience the pain. He could only be the target of rage and anguish gathered after so long, the same as it seemed he was for Ganondorf.

Shade surprised himself when he barked a loud, enlivened laugh. "No need to hold back." He shouted it again, a challenge, daring his opponent to do the same. "No need to hold back!"

And they did not.

* * *

It was midafternoon by the time they'd finished taking their aggression out on each other, bored with the fighting and too familiar with each other's moves to be surprised by the joys of innovation. Shade tossed what was left of his last sword into the brush where more bits of tormented metal lay. All around them was rubble and the remains of a fierce battleground. Across from him Ganondorf sat on the ground, body covered in dirt and dust and blood with no wounds.

To Shade's surprise, Ganondorf laughed.

"Well! That was refreshing."

"That's what you call it?"

Ganondorf smirked at him. "Aren't you refreshed?

To Shade’s surprise, he was. He hadn't felt this good in a long time, but he couldn't bring himself to admit it. "I'm filthy."

"That's hardly a problem."

The Gerudo's fingers flashed with magic, and although Shade eyed him warily he was hardly afraid. What more could they do to each other that they hadn't already done?

To his surprise, however, once the magic faded he was as clean as he had been before this whole mess had started, and so was Ganondorf. Their clothing and armor were whole, skin unmarred by sweat, blood, and dirt. Now that the fight was out of them and what pent up rage had been spent in this useless battle, he found he could look at the Gerudo King with something like a clear and rational mind instead of red hate.

It was probably not the best thing, given that they were both coming off the purest battle high Shade, for one, had ever experienced. Not when Ganondorf appeared strong and languid and as calm as he was.

"So what now?" Shade asked, glancing away.

Ganondorf rose to his feet, dusting himself off. "What indeed? We've proven explicitly that we stand no chance of killing each other. It's difficult to carry on the fight when it’s the pinnacle of futility."

Shade scowled. "I can think of one thing that could kill you."

Ganondorf smirked. "Well. That thorn in my side isn't here now, is it, or I'm sure you would have run me through with it by now. Of all of you Links, you're the most dangerous, and if I'm still alive even now, then I must assume."

"Assumptions are dangerous," Shade pointed out. Ganondorf's smirk took on an edge of true amusement.

"Then it's a good thing I'm impervious to danger otherwise."

That smirk was getting to Shade, whether he liked it or not, and of course he was too old now not to be able to unknot the tangle of traitorous emotions beginning to throb within him.

"Why did you come here, Ganondorf?"

"Finally, the point." The male Gerudo moved forward, calm and graceful, powerful and strong. Shade couldn't help but admire the way the light played on the deep red of the other man's hair or the way Ganondorf's desert-brown skin all but radiated beneath the gleam of golden bangles and the vibrancy of his people's best fabric. What Ganondorf said tore Shade's attention away from the other man's body and straight to his eyes. "I was looking for you."

Shade snorted. "Why would you look for a dead old thing like me."

"What can I say? Perhaps I was looking for proper company.” Ganondorf tilted his head, nodding to the decimated area around them. “After all, I doubt those children could begin to understand even a fraction of what just happened here."

That left Shade taken aback, and he frowned as he studied this Hyrule's adversary. This was Ganondorf. Din's Chosen. The great evil which threatened to throw this world into eternal chaos. It struck Shade how very little this Ganondorf looked to the one he'd fought and defeated. Still the same, always the same right at the core, but yet he could not help but be fascinated by the cool grace and open sensuality the man before him displayed. No armor. He didn't even wear shoes, his feet bare as if craving some primal connection to the earth.

Warmth fluttered low in his belly. Shade grunted, blaming the sensation on the post-battle high. "You got anything good to drink?"

Ganondorf smiled before raising a large hand to indicate the path toward the ruins of the castle, the invitation clear now that their fight had concluded for the time being. "Only the best."

* * *

Shade wasn't sure what he'd expected when he went with Ganondorf to Hyrule Castle, but it wasn't the lazy stream of conversation the Gerudo seemed content to carry on, despite its one-sided nature. What he chattered wasn't about anything really. No threats. No grandiose plans. No 'I will beat you and succeed'.

"It's nice to have a proper body again," Ganondorf said as he walked beside him, heedless of the rough ground against his exposed feet. "Existing as a dried husk is tiresome and irritating. You can't even pleasure yourself when you're bored without risking ripping it off. I'm sure you know."

Shade couldn't stop himself from smirking at that one. It was true. He did know.

His amusement faded somewhat as they entered Hyrule Castle. It was nothing like his Hyrule, but it still carried some of the same hallmarks. Old banners hung lifeless and torn. Armor and rubble fell together in great mounds where hallways had once been whole and clean. Their footsteps echoed through the cavernous rooms.

To Shade's surprise, there wasn't a single monster in sight.

"I don't like them here," Ganondorf replied when Shade asked. "Their place is outside the castle. Not within."

"A castle for one, then."

Ganondorf flashed him that easy smirk Shade was irritated to find he was getting used to. "And a guest."

Ganondorf's steps eventually let them to a room high within the castle, a room undamaged like the rest by luck or magic, Shade couldn't tell. With a snap of the Gerudo’s fingers, a fire lit in the grate and dotted the collection of candles along the walls, and soon what had been dim and shadowed was pleasantly lit.

"Somehow I thought you'd have more," Shade said, eyeing the rather simple room. He'd expected mountains of gold. Trophies. Weapons. Radiant jewels. Beautiful men and women to serve, and whatever else a conqueror could ever desire. What he saw instead was much simpler. A beautiful carpet. A mound of cushions. A small table filled with crystal decanters of luxurious liquors. The best view of Hyrule through a balcony exposing almost a full wall to the world.

"I don't need more," Ganondorf replied, taking two goblets and a bottle from the table, pouring wine. "Quality has always mattered more to me."

Shade supposed that made more sense. The carpet was vivid and plush, undoubtedly luxuriant under a bare foot such as Ganondorf's. He supposed it explained the other man's style of dress. Beautiful, touchable, enjoyable things. For two beings who'd been stranded in death, they'd both taken radically different approaches as to how they'd live their new undead lives. Whereas Shade had unthinkingly turned toward asceticism, Ganondorf had embraced refined pleasure and hedonism.

He felt a tug of shame in response to the quiet longing he felt toward the simple decadence Ganondorf had cultivated. It was shameless. Shade respected it.

"Here," Ganondorf said, offering him the second goblet. "Sit, stand, glower. Do whatever makes you comfortable. There's nothing but time for the likes of us. Might as well enjoy it however you see fit."

How Ganondorf saw fit, Shade noticed, was lounging atop the mound of plush Gerudo pillows. He'd never thought there would be a Ganondorf interested in simple hedonistic pleasure, but then he found he _could_ understand. Half-dead himself, since arriving here and reacquiring his own body, the few times he’d indulged he found himself drawn to simple pleasures of the body as well. Foods. Scents. The strength of his body as every muscle worked in perfect harmony. Adrenaline.

Physical relief.

After removing his helmet and setting it aside, Shade couldn't stop himself from prowling, however, old habits, and all the while his gaze kept slipping toward the Gerudo. To his credit, Ganondorf was doing nothing particularly villainous. Merely relaxing, enjoying himself, and Shade supposed he could relate. They literally couldn't kill each other. Cause pain, yes, but neither could truly end the other, so what was the point in worrying?

He was surprised to find his shoulders relaxing. The hero in him berated him for it. The old soul that had weathered time and a great deal of suffering, however, found he cared little for the chastisement. Cared little for the fact that this was his nemesis – or a version of him anyway. The fight earlier had done a lot, it seemed. It was hard to hate someone as much when you've fully had it out with them.

He sipped the wine and found it was excellent. A glance at Ganondorf showed he'd been watching, and that somehow he knew.

"You're welcome to whatever you like," Din's Chosen said, the picture of hospitality. "In the strangest of ways, we might be friends now. What else is there left for us to do, seeing as how we've done just about everything already. For now, let's do away with the charades."

"I wonder if it's as easy as you say. Thousands of years in a role," Shade said, the age coming out in his voice as he stared pensively at his drink. A question rose within him, one he'd wondered for ages and he didn't bother to stop it. "Did you enjoy your role? Do you enjoy it?"

The amusement that had kept Ganondorf pleasant dropped, and for the first time the Gerudo King frowned and glanced away. His gaze traced the mountain range in the distance, but Shade knew that look. The old one, filled with memories and time and lifetimes spent contemplating one's destiny when there was nothing else to do. Shade wondered if Ganondorf had come to some conclusion. He wondered if it was much different from his own.

"What would we be without our roles?" Ganondorf asked just as pensively.

"Free," Shade replied. "Simple beings without the weight of responsibility or the drive of divine ambition. Destinyless, perhaps, but no longer pawns."

"So you regret it?"

"I don't think it's a thing of regret," he replied. "Time and again, throughout existence, we play out the same battle to save this land. A Link and Zelda against the might of Ganondorf—"

"You're too kind."

"—and either they win, or the Ganondorf wins, and regardless the cycle continues ad infinitum." Shade gave Ganondorf a dead look. "What is there to regret when there is no choice in the matter to begin with?"

"My, you are bitter." This time a flash of equally bitter mirth crossed Ganondorf's lips. "But I don't think you're wrong. It's hard not to think the same when you're defeated and must spend millennia wondering what drove you toward that defeat in the first place."

"And your answer?"

Ganondorf glowered but it wasn't at him. "Someone must be sacrificed upon the divine altar. The cycle must be renewed, for whatever reason we've all forgotten after so long. Somehow it is the three of us, again and again. I, for one, am as tired of it as it seems you are." He drained his glass, and amused that they agreed on something, Shade drained his as well.

Still, the alcohol couldn't erase the elephant in the room.

"If that's the case," he said. "Why are you fighting this world's Link?"

"Perhaps for the same reason you feel the need to mentor and protect them," Ganondorf replied with a shrug as he poured another goblet of wine. "What else is there for us to do _but_ fulfill our purpose. We are made for nothing else."

A small chuckle slipped out of Shade's throat and he smirked as he looked at the Gerudo with his one remaining eye. "For some reason I never thought of you as a cynic."

Ganondorf only grinned and toasted him. The movement drew Shade's eye to the way the Gerudo King’s wrap rode up his thigh, brown skin strong and enticing.

Suddenly the reality that he was here with Ganondorf of all people, while the rest of the Links were all afraid and struggling with the weight and responsibility of saving this world hit him. He _should_ be with them, regardless of the truth. Advising them, if little else, even if his heart wasn't in it anymore. Not in the same way.

"I should fight you," Shade sighed as he stared out across the Hylian countryside. In the evening light, with the sun striking everything in the full throes of summer, the world before him was magnificent and beautiful, despite the pockets of war-torn earth dotting the view. "I'm a Link. You're a Ganondorf. We shall cross swords over and over and over until time ends, dying each and every time. It shouldn't matter that we're both undead."

"You're right. We can begin the fight again if you like, though we know it makes no difference in the end. It would give us something to do while the rest of your kin figures out what they will do." A wicked gleam caught in Ganondorf's eyes. "But I can think of other ways we could spend the time."

With that, Ganondorf shifted, reclining further back on his nest of pillows, spreading his muscular legs wider. The vivid bolt of fabric doing a poor job of keeping the Gerudo modest slid higher, and like it or not, Shade could not help but appreciate the sight.

Shade chuckled, setting his goblet down on the floor as he began removing armor. Maybe it was the alcohol. Maybe it was the long, _long_ life he'd been given which had worn him down to little more than the shadow he was now, tired, broken, and perhaps more jaded than he cared to admit. Or maybe it was simply nothing more than attraction, and an afterlife too long spent devoid of even the simplest of pleasures.

Either way, unarmored and in nothing more than a simple tunic and trousers, he found himself staring down at Ganondorf, glorious and half-alive as he was. And it didn't matter that the Gerudo King was here to take over this Hyrule. Shade found he couldn't bring himself to care less. He'd done his job. He'd protected his Hyrule and so many other worlds and peoples. He'd kept alive all of those young, foolish Links only to have their gazes turn cold and calculating. He knew it wasn't right, wasn't what Farore's Chosen – the Hero of Courage – was supposed to do, but as he trailed a hand down the length of a warm exposed thigh, he didn't care.

"You can't control me this way," he said, drawing his fingers over the muscles there none-too-gently. Ganondorf watched him, eyes burning.

"Whoever said I wanted to control you?" Quick as a snake, one of Ganondorf's hands darted forward to grab him through his trousers. Shade hissed at the sudden, bright pain, but couldn't help the answering bolt of pleasure which quickly followed. His erection engorged, but before Ganondorf could properly revel in his triumph Shade boldly mirrored the motion. Soon he had thick, shameless flesh clenched in his own fist, and the pleasure in Ganondorf's eyes matched the sharp bite of his teeth. "This is an exchange between equals, _Hero_. I don't know about you, but it's been much too long for anything less than that."

"It's in your nature to dominate," Shade said coolly, face and mind calm even as he let his filled hand begin to slide. "You're Power."

Ganondorf snorted. "Those boys are nothing. Weak. They lack the age and experience which has defined us both. There's no challenge in making them bend to me. That's nothing but routine. You're not."

Shade's hand squeezed brutally, and Ganondorf's eyes flashed but did little more. It was exactly what he'd expected, and truthfully he was pleased. "They will come after you. They will fight you. And they will beat you."

Once again, the speed with which Ganondorf moved was startling. Pain raced through Shade's scalp as the old king’s large hand clenched his hair, a nail digging deep enough into his flesh to make it momentarily bleed. Shade hissed and let go, and Din's Chosen gave a toothy grin before he slowly dragged Shade down until little more than an inch separated their lips.

"Perhaps," Ganondorf crooned before his touch gentled and a thumb slid pleasantly through Shade's hair. "Perhaps not. Either way, I would rather focus on this than on the children. We're having our own battle, aren't we? I'd rather we remain ... focused."

Shade bared his teeth, excited and ready. "Gladly."

Ganondorf rose and Shade expected the kiss, but at the last moment the Gerudo barked a laugh before shoving him downward between his legs. The movement had caused what little modesty his wrap provided him to bare all, and a generous, girthy cock arched toward before him.

Ganondorf smirked. "Well?"

Undaunted, Shade forced Ganondorf's legs wider, baring him obscenely before moving forward, mouth filling with heat and the purest taste of the man below him. Shade sucked, scraping his teeth over Ganondorf's head, and unbridled sinful pleasure flowed down his back as Ganondorf groaned without shame.

"First point to you, Hero," Ganondorf said, voice thickening before his hips surged forward, burying himself deep in Shade's throat and causing him to gag. Distracted, Ganondorf took the opportunity to set the pace and Shade glowered, even as his own cock ached with need between his legs. Ganondorf's eyes glowed. "Don't let your guard down."

Infuriated and aroused, Shade tore himself off, reveling in the bright pain of hair wrenched free before snaking a hand into Ganondorf's long red locks to wrench the Gerudo's head back, exposing the neck. He rose, slamming his groin brutally against Ganondorf's. The agony replaced quickly with intense pleasure, and Ganondorf hissed and arched just as Shade expected. A nipple pierced with gold was within reach. Shade took the opportunity readily.

"You should take your own advice."

His lips encircled it, teased it tantalizingly before he bit down hard. Ganondorf responded by tearing the front of Shade's trousers open grabbing at both of their members with a large, firm hand and stroking them together. In between hisses of pain and grunts of exertion, there was also loud, barking laughter, and pure moans of unbridled ecstasy from the both of them.

* * *

It was deep in the night by the time they ceased, and they lay naked beside each other on the plush rug, the light of the fire playing with their features and keeping back the chill.

Their bodies were marked and bruised from the activities, and Shade couldn't think of a more satisfying 'battle' in his life. Neither had won but winning hadn't been the point. Shade wasn't entirely sure there had _been_ a point, and perhaps that was the satisfaction in itself. A blatant blaspheme against destiny.

He had to say, he’d enjoyed it. Ganondorf had been a surprisingly good partner.

For some time now they'd done little more than share a companionable silence. It was hard to think of anything to say when they'd already been so vocal with their bodies in the most primal and violent of ways. Shade wasn't sure where they would go from this point, but for now he didn't care. He didn't want to think about everything he'd done. In ways it felt like betrayal, and he knew if he let that thought in, shame would come on its heels and he would leave. For now ... he didn't want to leave. Not yet.

"You think loudly, Hero."

"You can read thoughts, then? I always suspected."

Ganondorf snorted. "If that had been the case, I'd have won every time, and far more quickly. My opponents are often children and adolescence after all."

"Fair enough," Shade conceded. "Humor me, then. What's on my mind?"

"The only thing that's ever on your mind. Duty." Ganondorf sneered, but it lacked heat. "And what you will do next."

"What I'll do next," Shade said, "is rest. I'm an old man, and you've run me ragged."

"No older than I," Ganondorf snickered for a moment before he quieted. "Have you decided what you will do?"

"I'm trying not to think about it. You're not helping."

To Shade's surprise, Ganondorf flashed that attractive grin his way.

"How about a wager, then?"

"A wager?" Shade chuckled to himself but sighed. What the hell. "Don't know what this has to do with anything, but sure. Let's hear it."

"It's simple, really," Ganondorf replied, hand catching the gleam of his Triforce in the firelight. "I will play out my role, as I'm meant to—"

"I thought this was a wager. You're telling me your battle plan?"

"—and what happens in the end between myself and Farore's Chosen will determine how we – you and I – will respond to each other the next time we are summoned to perform before the divine altar."

That shut Shade up, and curious, he turned on his side to stare at the Gerudo. "What do you mean?"

"Exactly what I meant," Ganondorf replied off-handedly. "We are both tired of playing the same roles, yet we are required by fate to perform. Why not do something different next time?" His eyes glinted as the edge of a smirk tugged at his lips. "Could be interesting."

"We won't remember a thing," Shade countered. "We never do."

"Now who's the cynic?"

"It's true, and you really are insane." Shade slumped back on the pillows and brushed a hand over his cooling skin, watching the last of the near-violet bruises fade away in time with the last of Ganondorf's. Silence settled between them, the crackle of the fire the only sound.

Ganondorf broke it.

"Then what's the harm?"

Shade opened his mouth but found he had no words in opposition. After a moment, he said, "What's your wager?"

A pleased smile crossed Ganondorf's face as he lifted himself up on an elbow to look down at him. "If I succeed, the next time, I want you on my side."

Shade blinked his one remaining eye. "You want me to betray Zelda."

"I want you to fight with me by _my_ side," Ganondorf said. "If that means betraying your precious princess and forsaking Wisdom? Then, yes."

His eye narrowed and soon he was on his elbow as well, not quite level with Ganondorf, but close. Shade couldn't believe what the Gerudo was saying. He wanted him to choose Power over Wisdom, and his first instinct was to rebel against the idea. Zelda needed him. Zelda always needed him. They were a team. They kept Hyrule safe. Only one thing floated through his mind.

"Why?"

"You must have noticed. You've seen this play out multiple times." Ganondorf's hand ghosted along Shade's exposed side, sliding over old scars with even older stories – some of which had to do with the cycle they were talking about right now. Interest flickered within Shade's mind, even if his body still needed time before even considering another violent round like what they'd just finished. "Link is the key. Courage tips the scales one way or the other. I have Power, but I also want Courage."

Shade's mind quieted as he tried to get to the heart of the matter.

"You want the Triforce."

"Would you believe me if I told you that I don't give a rat's ass about the Triforce? Not now anyway. Not anymore." Ganondorf's warm fingers still ghosted along Shade's body, but Shade wondered if the Gerudo even realized he was doing it at all. His gaze had turned inward, his touch soft. "It's the trap, you know. Who, in a terrible circumstance, would not choose to pursue such power?"

There was an opening there, one to understand what sort of circumstance could drive a man like Ganondorf to crave the power of the Triforce, but Shade held his tongue. He knew better than to ask personal questions in the middle of a negotiation, particularly one with such weight.

"Why do you want me, then?"

Ganondorf didn't respond, not immediately. His touch continued to explore, and Shade found himself letting Ganondorf. Finally the Gerudo said, "Perhaps ... I'm merely tired of being alone."

And that, perhaps, was the truth of the matter, because it rang with honesty. And Shade could not help but respond in kind because that was the crux of it all. They were tired. They were alone. Over and over again the same thing, and perhaps what they'd endured this time was indeed too much. Instead of soaking in their contempt and hatred, duty and ambitions, they'd become jaded philosophers with too much time to think and enough age to value blatant honesty.

"Maybe I am too," Shade sighed, and just like that the truth manifested because it _was_ true. Ganondorf's gaze held his, and there were no lies between them.

Ganondorf's voice was quiet. "Your wager, then?"

Unable to help himself, Shade gently snagged a lock of Ganondorf's hair between his fingers, thinking perhaps he understood now why this great nemesis had felt such a desire to touch. After all this time, this perhaps was the most real conversation he'd ever had. A discussion of their lives beyond what was meant for them, if it was possible. It was ... intimate.

"If they win," Shade said, "The next time we must play this senseless game ... I want you to find me."

The weight of Ganondorf's eyes was too heavy to ignore, so Shade didn't and met them fully. A look more serious than anything Shade had seen since arriving in this strange world covered his face, leaving no doubt between them. "What do you mean, Hero?"

"I want you to find me," he said again. "I don't want to fight anymore. I want you to be on my side. On mine and Zelda's side."

Ganondorf rolled his eyes and shifted away, but Shade didn't let go of the lock of brilliant red hair between his fingers.

"Always that perfect princess of yours."

Shade snorted and rolled his eyes. "Hardly. The others may adore her. Perhaps their Zeldas are worth it."

A red brow arched. "Wasn't yours?"

"She meant well, I think,” Shade allowed. “But a child's wisdom can sometimes be quite cruel. She sent me back in time. She sent me away. In many regards, she set me on this path. Forgotten. Dead. Bitter and alone. Maybe it's unfair to blame her, but I was young and confused, and it wasn't until much later that I realized what had happened." He sighed. "You'd think Wisdom would have known better."

"Then why come to both, and not simply to you?" Ganondorf leaned forward again, and once more his touch was gentle as it curled around the back of his neck, pulling Shade closer. "I wouldn't mind if it was only you. Just the two of us."

Shade gave Ganondorf a wry smile. "Because I don't think any of us want to fight. And when it's two against one, fights are often inevitable."

"So you want to take the fight out of the equation entirely by driving us all to the same side," Ganondorf followed. "Would that be the side of good? Of evil?"

"I wonder if it even matters when all we do is go through the motions again anyway. Ideally, though, I'd prefer it be the side of peace."

Ganondorf seemed pleased by the response.

"Either way,” Shade continued, “if it even happened, perhaps we wouldn't have to be alone anymore. None of us."

"I see," Ganondorf said, and now there was very little space between them. Their hair curtained their faces in red and pale gold, cutting out the world. "And that is the wager then. Your companionship, or mine. A change to the cycle."

"That's it," Shade agreed, marveling at how easy this was. That he didn’t much mind that it was with Ganondorf.

"You cannot help them in the fight," Ganondorf said.

"And you cannot summon aid," Shade added. "It must be you against them."

Ganondorf's eyes turned serious. "I know about the boy. I could kill you. I could kill your descendant. All of this could be for absolutely nothing. Are you willing to take that risk?"

This time, Shade's smile widened into something true and light and perhaps a little impish, and he marveled that after all this time, he still had even a fraction of Kid's nature locked away deep in his heart.

"I believe in them, Ganondorf,” he said confidently. “So yes, I'm willing."

"I won't hold back."

"I never thought you would."

Throughout the conversation they'd moved closer until their foreheads touched, the space between their lips filled with the humid warmth of their breath. Shade was pleased when Ganondorf's smile mirrored his own. Willing. Daring. Maybe even a little hopeful. At that moment he thought he could see a life where there had never been any fighting. They'd never fought. They were friends. Maybe even something more.

"If only we'd met in another time and place," Ganondorf sighed as if sharing his thought. "Things could have been so different."

"Well," Shade said, closing the distance. "I think that's what we're betting on, isn't it?"

And they sealed the wager with a kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next post on Thursday


	16. One Week Remaining

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy holidays! I hope you enjoy :]

**Wild**

They'd been traveling most of the day in utter silence with Wild in the lead, the Sheikah Slate in hand. On the screen the five of them were steady dots, their locations familiar around him enough he didn't have to activate their labels, but on the edge of the map two dots blipped faintly due to distance. And thankfully located in the exact same direction.

Kid and Shade. But what chilled him to the bone was that the direction they were headed was a direct path to Hyrule Castle.

When he'd voiced this observation, the same unease that had started to creep in his chest spread across the rest of them. They could all but hear the low growl in Twilight's chest, daring even one of them to say a word.

But hours on now, quiet, a little hungry, wary of everyone except Wind – who'd taken to traveling next to him whenever possible, which was oddly comforting – Wild found what he wanted more than anything was a little solitude.

There was someone he _needed_ to speak to.

He was just about to bring up the idea of a break when Time beat him to it.

"We'll rest here for now," Time said. "Sky's loftwing and the horses need a break."

Twilight was already gone before Time had finished speaking, and while the feral hero’s disappearance made him uneasy, Wild was also relieved to have him gone. Of all of them, Twilight was the black sheep and it was no secret that given half a chance he'd leave them behind to find Shade himself. Wind immediately went to the river just like he always did when there was a body of water around while Sky and Time murmured to each other.

Leading his horse away, in sight but out of earshot of the others, Wild let his horse drink while he focused his mind on Princess Zelda and their connection, hoping she'd be available, hoping she'd be waiting. Hoping, hoping, hoping because he _needed_ to hear her voice and receive her guidance when it felt like everything was falling apart around him.

The connection was almost instant, her voice quick and hopeful. "Link? Link, can you hear me?"

"Yes, Princess," he said, swallowing hard.

"I have been receiving reports for days now, Ganondorf’s hold across all of Hyrule has eased and all but lifted entirely in some areas," she said, hope and enthusiasm filling her voice for the first time in what felt like years. "You've all done it, Link! All that is left is to defeat Ganondorf, and our Hyrule will be free once more. Were you able to recharge the Master Sword? Is everyone all right?"

Much as he wanted to answer every one of her questions, he found the words lodged deep in his throat. The excitement that had all but burst through their connection dimmed, and he waited for the princess to piece together what his lack of excitement meant.

She didn’t disappoint.

"What has happened, Link?"

"In the Korok Forest, we almost died. All of us," he admitted. They weren't the words he'd intended to say, but they spilled out now that he'd started talking. "Shade saved us all."

"Well ... that's wonderful news, isn't it? We knew he was strong and powerful. I'm glad he protected all of you—"

"Princess, he's undead."

The silence that bled through their connection was so stark he almost thought for a moment that she'd cut it off. Finally she said in a breathy, startled tone, "What?"

"In saving us, he was sliced nearly in half and the damage dispelled a glamour. He's a stalfos, Princess. We can see the truth when he becomes injured."

"How did we not know?” she abruptly demanded. “Did anyone know?"

"I don't think anyone knew, not even Twilight, and apparently they're related."

"Hylia above." His thought's exactly, but she didn't give him time to share the sentiment. "Where is he now? What has happened?"

"He's gone," he told her. "After we found out, he left and we don't know where. Both he and Kid are gone – we think Kid went after him – and right now we're trying to track them down. Time's taken charge and it's all just ... difficult now. Princess, I don't know what to do. I was never trained to handle problems like these."

"Neither of us were," she sighed. "If it's not one thing, it is another."

Wild snorted, half-amused, half-desperate. "We never catch a break."

"What is the plan then? What are you all going to do?"

"Right now, the plan is to find Shade and Kid, find out what's going on and if we can trust Shade, then fight Ganondorf."

"And if you cannot find either of them?” Zelda asked seriously. “If Shade proves to be a puppet of Ganondorf's?"

This was what he most struggled with because the thought that they would have to fight Shade as well – a master fighter, immortal, powerful beyond anything Wild could hope to imagine – he didn't think they could do it. Not with the group they had. They all had their skills, that was true enough, and he was certain they all had hidden abilities they hadn't revealed yet. But if that was true, they would've been quicker to use them when they were on the brink of death. Before Shade proved how powerful he was.

Fight Shade _and_ Ganondorf? They'd be demolished.

"What do you think, Princess?" he asked quietly. "About everything. All of this?"

"About Shade, you mean?" she replied, cutting right to the chase. "It's difficult to say because on one hand, I understand your point of view entirely. This is our world. The dead have been slave to Ganondorf for so long, the very idea that one might not is almost unimaginable and disconcerting."

A tight knot in his chest eased somewhat. Of course several of the other Links had voiced similar concerns, but it meant more coming from Princess Zelda, a fellow native of this world and his true partner.

"I sense a but," he still forced himself to say, and she chuckled slightly.

"Well, yes. The problem I have is that I summoned them. All of them. When they came I could feel their will. Every one of them had a strong desire to defeat darkness, and no one more than Shade. As horrible as the situation looks, my heart cannot help but think he is still loyal to everything we are doing and stand for. At the very least, we must get to the bottom of this. If he is on our side, we will need him to fight. But why is Kid gone?"

"We don't know, no one knows. Wind just said he was going after Shade on his own," Wild admitted. "But we've theorized. The reason why we were almost killed in the Korok Forest is largely because Kid acted rashly. It might be shame that drove him away. It might be anything. All we know is that both he and Shade are located in the same direction."

"And which direction is that?"

Wild frowned but forced himself to respond.

"Hyrule Castle."

A stiff silence, then Princess Zelda said, "If Shade is on our side, do you believe he would go after Ganondorf on his own?"

"I don't know, Princess. I don't know anything. But if he does and he kills Ganondorf for us, I guess that would prove he was always on our side to begin with and they can all go home. But ...."

"The only way to defeat Ganondorf is with the Master Sword. And Shade does not have it."

Wild sighed. "This is a mess."

"Perhaps," Zelda agreed. "I will let you know if the situation around the castle changes and if we see anything. In the meantime, do what you can to find Shade and Kid."

"I'm trying," he said.

"Be strong, my champion," Princess Zelda said. "And be aware. Anything might happen, and if I were to lose you after I have already lost so much, I do not think I could bear it."

Wild couldn't help but smile tenderly because he felt the same in a lot of ways. His memories were still very fuzzy, but over the time they'd spent together he'd been able to recall the care and compassion he held for her. How could he not when they'd all but grown up together with legends and the weight of all of Hyrule's protection on their shoulders?

"I will," he promised. "I'll keep you updated as we proceed, but I sense that whatever happens, it will be soon."

And it would have to be. The Blood Moon would rise in a week, and they had until then to defeat Ganondorf and retake Hyrule if they wanted to get the others back to their proper homes. Wild wanted that, if only for Wind's sake.

He felt the connection between him and the princess cut, and soon it was just him again, alone with his horse and the other hims, and the tightness in his stomach as he wondered how all the cards would fall.

* * *

**Shade**

With their truce in place and the aggressive and satisfying sex out of the way for the time being, Shade found himself exploring the castle, or the ruins of what was left. A younger him would've been bothered by the state of a Hyrule Castle such as this. Broken. Dilapidated. Banners frayed, burned, torn, and the corpse of the seat of a once-powerful kingdom completely usurped. A kingdom in another world he'd fought for. Died for.

But not anymore.

He moved past the wreckage with hardly a glance, and while a part of him shifted at the deep-seated blaspheme, it was more easily ignored. A part of him had thought he'd forever be the loyal knight, and he was. But he was also changed. Perhaps too much had been demanded from him. Perhaps, and he'd never say this out loud lest Ganondorf feel more smug than he already was, but perhaps Din's Chosen was right. He was a cynic. Jaded.

Not that it mattered now. He was here for reasons unrelated to any Royal Family of Hyrule. After so long, he was finally letting his iron grip on who he served relax because this wasn't about Hyrule, and while he cared, his loyalty lay elsewhere now. It was the strongest thing he knew and had been for some time now. It was why he was descending into the castle's treasure room, the vault where the most precious and dangerous things were kept.

Shade wasn’t sure he'd find what he was looking for, but he hoped he would. Ganondorf had been curious when he’d asked about the room, but to Shade's surprise had not pried.

"Take whatever you desire, Hero," the Gerudo King said with a smooth smirk. "I have everything I want already."

Shade had grunted, unsure if it was a trap but also not caring if it was one either. Now that he was before the door he couldn't sense the Gerudo King. It was just him here.

Well. That wasn't exactly true, but his visitor wouldn't reach him for an hour or so yet. He had time.

Shade spent it well.

The jewels and gold hidden in the vault might as well have been coal to his eyes for how much appeal they held for him, and the same could be said for the weapons since he was the most dangerous thing here, tied with Ganondorf. But riches and weapons weren't what he searched for. And now that he was here, he knew what he needed _was_ here. He could feel it like a tug to his chest. The old wolf in him shifted and soon he was following the pull. Moving around mounds of gold, treasure chests filled with ancient scrolls and dark spells until he made his way to a small corner of the vault. At first all he could see was more of the same, gold and jewels, but he followed his instincts.

Thrusting a hand forward, the sound of gold clicking against more gold and the stone floor was like bright music as it disrupted the silence. He dug within the mound until his fingers touched something solid and angular, a narrow case, and seizing it, he pulled.

It was a black, obsidian box, a narrow case flat and weighty, and nearly the size of a large shield. With it here in his hands the tug was stronger, intense to his senses, and carefully Shade placed it on the ground and undid the latches. As he lifted the top, the reflective surface inside gleamed with turquoise letters; letters of the Twili.

Inside was a Mirror of Twilight.

Its surface gleamed in the pale light of the vault, reflecting more Twili-markings etched into the metal which contained the glass, and even the mirror itself. Idly he glanced at his reflection and was unsurprised to see a red-eyed ghoul staring back, the mirror reflecting the truth. Cautiously he touched the surface and closed his eye. Reached for what lay beyond. A path. A path to a world his son had fallen in love with, and a princess that had stolen his heart.

It was there.

Shade couldn't help the soft tenderness that slipped around what remained of his heart as he closed the case, locking it safely. There weren't many gifts he could give, but this ... he could do this for his son.

As he clicked the final latch shut he realized that, at last, he wasn't alone. The presence that had been searching for him the last hour had finally caught up. He supposed it was now or never.

Best to get it over with.

"Don't skulk," Shade said. "It's unbecoming."

A small shadow moved out of the corner of his eye, short but furious.

"Give it _back_."

Shade didn't need to glance up. He wasn't surprised by the young, menacing voice. As a matter of fact, he'd been waiting. This was who he'd felt coming all this time, and how could he not feel it?

It was only himself, after all.

Rising to his feet, Shade glanced over his shoulder and saw Kid standing with a sword in hand as he glowered death at him with everything he had.

"You know that won't hurt me."

"I said give it back!" Kid snapped. "Give the Fierce Deity Mask back!"

Shade eyed his younger self coolly, giving him his full attention. He tried to remember fuzzy memories from thousands of years ago, and while there, they were faded impressions that might have meant nothing at all. A dream in a dream he could barely recall. Those memories offered no hint of what to do next, so he did as he desired.

"You don't want it, Kid. You don't even want to use it." He turned to face his younger self directly. "Why take it back at all? That's not why you're here."

"I'm here for what's mine."

Shade let out the faintest snort, turning his eye away. "I'll give it back to you. Here." He reached into a pouch at his waist and pulled it out before offering it over. "It's yours."

Shade wasn't sure if Kid was aware of the flinch he'd showed the moment he saw the mask, nor was he surprised when the boy didn't make a move toward taking it.

"Well?" he said.

Kid stared at the mask for a long moment before turning his blue eyes Shade's way. "I know who you are."

Shade's arm dropped and he tucked the mask away again before crossing his arms. "Congratulations. I'm not impressed."

"You're not going to deny it?" Kid demanded, eyes hard. "It's true."

"You know it's true," Shade replied. "Why do you need me to say it, Kid?"

"Because I need to _know_. I need the truth."

A bitter laugh slipped out of Shade and he looked away. "You're hoping that I'll tell you you're wrong. That the future you see before you isn’t meant for you. That it doesn't end this way."

He could see Kid's jaw work tightly before the boy said in a clipped voice, "Well?"

"I'm exactly who you think I am. You, thousands of years older.” He lifted his chin. “This."

Shade wasn't sure what he expected. Rage. His younger self was filled with it, it almost seemed an unstoppable flow, though he knew there was good reason for that. While much of his history blurred together at the long middle, the beginning, most recent, and the traumatic both good and bad were always the strongest. But Kid didn't shout and stomp like he'd expected. Instead his body was shaking violently, and deep, dark circles clung to the bottoms of his eyes. If Shade had to guess, he suspected the boy had run or rolled all the way here without a pause before infiltrating the castle.

Dim memories resurfaced like distant fireflies and he could _just_ remember a time when, yes. That was what happened. This _had_ all happened before, but now that he knew he couldn't say what happened next or how. The memories were distant and near rotted through, the flashes and sensations didn't make sense. They were unhelpful.

It was probably for the best.

"So I become you," Kid finally said as he prowled closer, eyes narrowed and filled with anger, likely the only thing keeping him standing.

"And you were me," Shade agreed. "Fate has been unkind to us, yet again."

"You're not surprised. You knew during the battle," the boy said. "How long have you known?"

"Since we first got here, Kid," Shade said with a soft chuckle. "How could I not know? World jumping? The way you look? When you spoke about Epona?" His demeanor cooled. "I was certain when I saw the scars on the back of your arm."

The rage came then. Kid shouted, "And you didn't _tell_ me?"

"Don't delude yourself. You'd have never believed me, and what would it have mattered? Even in your greatest nightmares, you could never have imagined someone like me." Shade sighed. "Nothing would have changed, Kid, if I'd told you. Nothing _has_ changed. I've spent this entire time making sure you were safe."

"How kind of you," Kid snarled. "Your life must be so nice if you're willing to protect it so much."

A red line of anger bolted through the center of Shade's chest. "I didn't do it for me or even you, Kid. Trust me, you never grow out of the cynicism."

"Then why keep me safe?" Kid said. "Why was that so important?" He fell silent, eyes searching Shade's face before realization lit his face. "It was for Twilight." His brow furrowed. "He called you father. You called him son."

"I did," Shade agreed. It was the truth. There was nothing plainer than that. It was his single, greatest pride. "He's a descendent."

_And the best thing I have ever done_ , he quietly added.

"So if something happened to me,” Kid worked out slowly. “He might not exist."

"You're familiar enough with time to know that. You're not saying anything you don't already know."

A strange mixture of emotions flashed across Kid’s face before he glowered bitterly at Shade. "Do any of the others know? What we are? Does your son—"

"Twilight doesn't know. No one knows, Kid. Just you and me." His eyes slid to the side. "And Ganondorf."

As expected, Kid stiffened. The greater reality of the situation, of where they were, seemed to dawn on him. "What do you mean Ganondorf knows?"

"He's clever. He put two and two together, and he's sensitive to life-forces. He can tell."

A tense pause followed.

"How do you know?" the boy said, slowly.

"Because," Shade said, seeing no reason to lie. "I've spoken with him."

"You've _what?_ "

This he had expected. This he would expect from every other Link as well. "I spoke to him, Kid. Admittedly we tried to kill each other first, but being both dead as we are, it didn’t take. So, we talked."

"What do you mean you _talked_? Like what? You just gave up killing him after everything he's _done_ to us?"

"We've already defeated our own Ganondorf," Shade pointed out. "This one is not ours."

"But he's still done terrible things!" Kid pressed. "I mean, look at this world! It was filled with darkness and evil. It took _seven_ of us just to bring it back from the brink so we can kill him _now_. Ganondorf is evil!"

"And we've done no worse?"

Kid's jaw snapped shut as if Shade had slapped him.

"Can you honestly tell me, Kid, that we've done no worse? That we weren't so desperate to prove ourselves the Hero of Time that we didn't go in search of danger. That we didn't find challenges when there might not have been any. That we didn't use the mask and that there weren't casualties we needed the ocarina to fix?"

He'd crossed a line, he knew it the moment the words were out of his mouth because Shade knew that face. Knew that body language. He'd used it often enough to remember it even now. Kid was done playing games.

"What happened?" Kid demanded, hands clenched as he stalked forward. "How did you lose your eye? How do you become like this?"

_The Great War._

"I can't tell you that," Shade replied. The last thing he wanted to do now was influence the future so much it changed. That Kid decided to change it in his rage. That, when Twilight needed him, he wouldn't be there.

"How did you die?" Kid snapped.

_Defending Hyrule, as always. Sword to the gut in the name of the royal family._

"It doesn't matter," Shade said. Kid bristled.

"Where did you die?" Kid's voice was so tight and painful it made Shade's chest ache hollowly. "And you can't tell me that you don't know. There's only one place where if you die you turn into _that_."

"Then why ask?" Shade questioned. "What is this really about, Kid?"

"I can end it for both of us!" Kid screamed up at him now that he was close enough to stab him. "I know you want it as much as I do. I can see it!"

Shade glowered, but he did not shout. He did not harm his younger self. He let Kid rage valiantly, but when it appeared that he was intent on hurting himself – threatening Twilight – Shade grew firm once again.

"What do you see, Kid?" Shade finally demanded as he stared thunderously down his nose. "What do you know about me? That your death – our death – is what I desire?"

"Because you're me!" Kid spat viciously. "Because I see what you are, Shade! Half-dead. One-eyed. Bitter. _Alone_." Kid's voice cracked horribly and if he'd only felt an echo of emotion before, now it stung with an old hurt he hadn't realized he'd forgotten. "I _become_ you, and you _terrify_ me. That's not what I want!"

Shade's eyes softened, and suddenly he remembered what came out of his mouth next.

"What do you want, Kid?"

It was as if no one had ever asked the boy that question, _really_ asked him knowing exactly what he meant, and the words burst out of him. Words Shade realized he'd once said himself, only forgotten so long ago.

"I want Navi!” Kid screamed, voice echoing off the stone walls loud enough to wake the dead before adding, “I don’t want to be _alone_ anymore!"

Kid's eyes abruptly rolled back, and it was reflex that enabled Shade to catch the boy’s limp body in his arms. He frowned, relaxing his grip on Kid to check him. He didn't even twitch.

"Just asleep," Ganondorf said as he rounded the corner, eyeing the young boy supported in Shade’s arms. The boy was oblivious to the world as he slept for what must have been the first time in days fueled by nothing but emotion. "Hope you don't mind. Thought you could use a break."

"He needed it out," Shade said, slightly annoyed by Ganondorf's interference, but also surprisingly relieved by it as well. "But thank you. I forgot how much raw emotion there was at that time."

"I was talking about him," the Gerudo said with an edge of a smirk before he peered closer at Kid. A strange protectiveness wafted through Shade at the sight of his younger self so vulnerable, even if he knew Ganondorf wouldn't attempt anything yet. "You were quite gangly, weren't you?" Ganondorf reached for Kid's left arm and twisted it so the back of his forearm was visible, and five scars flashed up. Ganondorf arched a brow. "You have many more than this."

The look he gave the Gerudo was cool and unrelenting. Nothing he would talk about. Ganondorf smiled and lifted his hands.

"Worry not, Hero. I won't pry. Hylia knows if I had a hold of my younger self as you do now, we would not merely have settled for shouting."

He rolled his eyes. "It amuses me to think you'd both attempt to kill each other."

"What can I say?" Ganondorf replied. "Only one may have Power."

"And it will always be the younger."

"Then I would die with the satisfaction that they were worthy," Ganondorf said. "We both know it doesn't matter."

Shade said nothing. Instead he cradled Kid against his chest before bending down to snag the straps of the mirror's case, hauling it over a shoulder. It was heavy, but no more so than the weight of a world. Ganondorf studied it, then him, then a flash of clarity swept across his eyes.

"Oh. Your child. He's been touched by twilight." Ganondorf cocked his head, the gold loops in his ears and headdress shining. "Now why would he need something like that?"

"Mind your own business," Shade said coolly, protective instincts rising even higher. He'd sworn he wouldn't interfere with the fight Ganondorf would have with the younger Links, but that didn't mean he would say more than necessary. His loyalty was to the child in his arms and the child he had trained. If Ganondorf did anything to harm either outside of their destined battle, then the wager was off.

"As you wish, Hero. Merely curious.” Together they moved through the castle, and he arched a brow at Kid. “Where would you like to put him? The spell won't last forever.” He grinned wickedly. “The dungeon perhaps? A room with a view? Tell me, Hero, what would hold you best until the right time?"

"It would be better if he slept until then," Shade sighed. Ganondorf snickered.

"I am not here to ensure your younger self wakes up feeling refreshed and rejuvenated. A locked room is good enough, enhanced with a spell. Do you think that will hold him?"

Shade arched a brow of his own. "You doubt the strength of your own spells?"

Ganondorf gave him a slight snort. "I've learned not to underestimate you."

An amused smirk cracked across Shade’s lips. "It will hold him well enough."

They left Kid in a small room with a cot and the most basic amenities before Ganondorf sealed the door. While he kept an interested eye on the mirror, the Gerudo said nothing and gave no further sign of interest once Shade set it aside.

"Well, that's one. Five more. How long do you think we'll have to wait?" Ganondorf pondered as they wandered back to his rooms.

"Not long. I suspect it won't take the others long to make their way here."

Ganondorf smirked suggestively.

"Then we should make the most of our time."

Shade couldn't help but snort.

"You're insatiable."

"It's been ten thousand years, Hero," Ganondorf said, amused. He prowled up to Shade, reaching for his belt. "You certainly can't blame me."

Shade eyed him with his one working eye before he gave in to his desires and reached for the warp at Ganondorf's waist. "I suppose not. And it's not a terrible way to spend the time while we wait."

The Gerudo smiled, teeth white and shining, Ganondorf handsome and beautiful. "My thought exactly."

* * *

**Wind**

Wind was trying his hardest to ignore the saddle sore of his legs and bottom, something he still wasn't used to after weeks of riding as they rode on and on. The miles slipped by along with the hours, and after everything that had happened, the only ones who broke the silence occasionally were Time and Sky. After a while the motions of his horse started feeling a _little_ like the rocking of a boat and if it wasn't for the ache, he was pretty sure he'd have drifted off by now and probably have fallen off.

Beside him Wild stared ahead, the slate mounted in front of him on his saddle. His eyes stared ahead but he wasn't entirely sure the Link he was closest to saw anything. As seemed to be usual for him, Wild was deep in his thoughts, eyes locked on the distant silhouette of Hyrule Castle, and the tenseness in his shoulders almost made Wind’s own ache. Wind didn't want to fight again. He didn't want to face another Ganondorf, but Wild was his friend now. Even if he could leave this instant, he wouldn't abandon him like that.

It didn't mean he didn't crave home desperately.

But as much as he wanted to keep up with Wild, the one he found he most wanted to talk to was Twilight. How was Shade his father, or ancestor? What was it like for him? Wind had never known his father or mother, not really. It had always been him, his grandma and Aryll, and they'd never thought he'd be the Hero of Legend. But Twilight, he'd had a mentor, a teacher. Someone who'd taught him the ways of the hero and been close to him.

What was all of this like for him, and how was he taking it?

Wind wasn't sure Twilight would've answered his question, not with the way he kept to himself now. Before, he'd been quiet and calm, but his looks hadn't been hard and slicing. Now Wind was almost afraid to look at the other Link. He didn't want to risk getting torn apart. Twilight lingered at the end of their line like a shadow, wordless but presence weighty. They were all familiar with long silences but his made Wind want to babble about any and everything just to break it.

He sighed. He missed his island. He missed his sea. He missed Tetra, and the adventure she brought with her everywhere, and her wicked grin. Wind was determined to help Wild, but that didn't mean that he didn't want to go home with all his heart either.

Wind was just thinking about Tetra when he almost jumped out of his saddle. Immediately Wild jerked his head around, an eyebrow cocked in curiosity or expecting an attack, but Wind barely had time to notice. His hand thrust inside his tunic, scraping around until the familiar blue stone rested in his palm, glowing. Tetra! It was Tetra! She was calling, thank the Golden Goddesses, she was calling because who else could it be? Who else could use this? Oh goddesses above, he couldn't wait to hear her voice, even if she scolded him, and—

"Wind? Wind! Can you hear me? Is this thing working?"

Wind's excitement fell as he heard his nickname from the mouth of another Link and realized what this was. Right. He'd given a communicator stone to Kid.

And if Kid was reaching out, it couldn't be good.

"Wind?" Wild said, slowing his horse to stop beside him, but Wind wasn't paying attention. He grasped the stone in his hands and focused.

"Kid? I hear you, is something wrong? What's going on? Where are you?"

"Hyrule Castle, I think," Kid said, his voice a faint echo. Their group had stopped to stare at him, and while he knew he must look odd talking to a rock and a voice they couldn't hear, he didn't care. Kid had reached out.

He hadn’t thought the other boy would, and didn’t like that he had.

"You think?"

"It's where I was when I found ... when I found Shade," Kid said. "I don't know what happened. One moment we were arguing, the next I woke up in a room somewhere. I think I'm still in the castle, though. I'm trying to get out but there's magic stopping me."

"Are you in danger?" Wind asked.

"I don't know. I don't think so. Shade wouldn't hurt me, I know that much. But ... something's going on. Shade and Ganondorf ... he said some things that aren't sitting right with me, Wind. You've got to get me out of here. We've got to defeat Ganondorf. This has to end."

"So Wild was right? About Shade?"

Wind's eyes flicked toward Wild, toward all the others. Toward Twilight who looked borderline feral.

"I don't think so, but he said they're talking. I don't know what that means, but I don't like it. You've got to find me and get me out of here _now_."

"What is he saying?" Time asked as he pulled his horse up beside Wind's. "Wind?"

"Kid needs our help. He’s at Hyrule Castle," he explained, his heart speeding up. "He said that ... that Shade and Ganondorf have been talking. He doesn't think that Ganondorf is in control of Shade, but he doesn't like the situation. He's trapped right now."

"Then it's time we go. If they're all at Hyrule Castle, that's where we need to be. Tell him to remain calm and be patient. We're on our way."

"To what?" Twilight suddenly snapped. "To find my father and kill him?"

"To stop Ganondorf and put an end to all of this. To find out if he is truly controlling your father," Time said before he nodded to Sky. "Patrol the way ahead. We'll be moving fast. There's no time to waste."

"Understood," Sky replied with the focus of trained military bearing before he and his loftwing rose into the sky, the flurry of wind whipping at them all. Time turned to Twilight.

"We don't have time to argue. This world needs saving. Kid and Shade need saving. Do you deny that, or do you want to keep fighting?"

"Say another word,” Twilight growled. “And I'll sink my teeth into your throat."

"Time's right," Wild said, breaking into the argument unexpectedly. Wind's friend hardly noticed the glowers both Links gave him. Instead his eyes were focused on the slate, ignoring them all. "If we leave now and move fast we can make it to the castle tomorrow by sundown."

"Then let's go," Time said, glowering at Twilight one last time before nodding to Wind. "Good work."

Wind nodded, but the movements were tight. This was happening. This was all about to happen and very quickly. This was just like when he fought Ganondorf in his world. He hadn't been ready. Hadn't felt remotely ready, and then it was time to fight for the lives of everyone in his sea. Now he had to do it for this world too.

Ignoring his nerves and the nausea that threatened to coil around his stomach if he let it, Wind trained his eyes ahead and urged his horse into a gallop to keep up with the others as they rushed toward the final battle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next post on Monday


	17. Infiltration

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ohhh we're getting close to the big confrontation with Ganondorf~

**Sky**

They made quick time crossing the Hylian plains now that Kid had called, and while he knew the rest of their group could see the castle in the distance, Sky had watched it for some time now from his position soaring high above. It was a solitary place, quiet and waiting, old and broken and foreboding.

All he could think of were the ruins of Demise and how he ached for Fi's guidance.

Thankfully Time was on their side, and if he could not have Fi then he at least was a good friend and brother, giving him hope and keeping him steady when all Sky wanted was to go home to Zelda and their budding family. He had to finish this. They _had_ to succeed. There was no alternative.

A glint of steel below drew his attention and he nudged his loftwing into a steady bank. A minute later he was on the ground sliding off her glossy red feathers.

"What is it?"

"We have a plan to get into the castle," Time replied. Their leader gestured to Wild.

"When I went there the first time to defeat Calamity Ganon, the way inside was blocked by monsters. We think it's safe to assume that Ganondorf knows we're coming and will be preparing for us by doing something similar to slow us down. The most direct way in is through the main entrance. It’ll likely be the most dangerous.”

"Do you think the five of us can pave the way?" Sky asked. "I've been keeping an eye out from above, and I've yet to see anything."

"We've decided we don't want to take the chance," Time replied. "We're going to divide the party and infiltrate the castle from two sides. Half of us will ride with you on your loftwing and enter the castle from above, and the other group will enter from below."

"Below?" Sky said, confused. "Above I understand, but below?"

"We'll use Wild's slate," Wind suddenly said with a grin. "While you've been up there, we've been testing the slate. Since the Korok Forest was freed, Wild has been able to use it to quickly travel all over the place, and we thought we’d see if any of us can kind of, uh, ride along while he uses it. Turns out we can, so long as we’re touching him. Or, at least, one of us can at a time."

For the first time since Sky had arrived here, Wild grinned too. "It opens up so many possibilities."

But while everyone else seemed comfortable with the idea, Sky wasn't as much. He frowned, eyes hard. "My loftwing can't carry more than two people. She wouldn't even get off the ground with three. Shade and I made it because we'd traveled by horse first before using her to get to our locations."

"You'll have to take Twilight and me on two separate trips," Time explained before giving him a serious look. "We have no idea what sort of defenses Ganondorf has set to combat aerial threats. That being said, do you think you and your loftwing could do it?"

"That's not a problem," he replied immediately, thinking of everything he and his girl had been through in their world. "That's not my concern though."

"And what _is_ your concern?" Twilight said, breaking into the conversation for the first time. "That I'll run when no one's watching?"

Sky's face hardened. "I want us all to succeed and go home."

Twilight met his eyes squarely. "You think I don't?"

After the conversations he and Time had had, he didn't, but this was also the first time the feral hero had mentioned anything otherwise. In the face of it, Sky couldn't say otherwise.

"Twilight is a part of the team and wants to be there as much as we do," Time finally allowed. "We need him if we're going to find Kid and Shade, after all. He's the only one who'll be able to track them down."

Sky arched a brow, bewildered, because how was he supposed to do that? Twilight glanced away, face hard. "I can smell them."

Sky's brow furrowed and he waited for an explanation, but none came. He glanced at Time, then Wild, and while Time only shrugged, Wild's lips pressed thin and he wouldn't hold his eyes.

"If you can't trust me to do what needs to be done, then I have no business here," Twilight said firmly. "None of you like me. I get that. I don't particularly like you either. But that won't stop me from doing what I need to do. I am the Hero of Twilight and I have faced worse than your skepticism and ridicule. If you do not trust me, say so now."

"We trust you, Twilight," Wind said, raising his hands before glancing at the others. "Right?"

"Of course," Time replied though Wild glanced away after nodding. "You have as much at stake as the rest of us, and I trust that. Now, while Wild and Wind travel to a shrine under the castle and make their way upward from there, the three of us will travel downward, find Kid, and meet with the others in the throne room. Once we're together we will hunt Ganondorf."

"And find my father," Twilight added pointedly.

"Of course," Time added before looking at them all. "We must do this as a team. This is the only way we will win. Can we all at least agree on that?"

Sky agreed and waited as the others nodded, though Twilight remained intense and tight-lipped. Sky looked at Time.

"When do we start?"

"At dusk," he replied firmly. "That'll help keep your loftwing safer. Ganondorf won't see us coming, at least, not as easily."

Sky appreciated the thought. It gave them a couple of hours to get ready and after stopping behind a ridge and having one last hardy meal Wild cooked up, not long after darkness set, they were ready.

"We'll meet you there," Wild said now that Wind was settled on his back like a small, blond-haired backpack.

"Be careful!" Wind added, his young face determined before he nodded to his partner. Wild pressed an image on his slate and glowing blue light engulfed them. The wind rose and he had to cover his eyes against the flash of light, but when he blinked them clear, both heroes were gone.

Sky shook his head. "I'm never going to get used to that."

"It’s impressive," Time admitted before facing Twilight and Sky. It was just the three of them now and without Wind's innocent and mediating presence, the tension in the air seemed to triple. While the moon was not full, it was still bright and with the fire extinguished darkness settled around them.

Twilight's eyes glinted with feral light.

"So," Twilight said. "Who's going first?"

"You can if you'd like," Time said, surprising Sky because if it had been Sky's call, he'd have taken Time to ensure Twilight didn't bolt into the castle the moment Sky went back for Time. "It doesn't matter who gets there first. We have a plan. I trust that you'll stick to it?"

Twilight growled, an edge of teeth showing but he shoved himself upright and neared Sky with a scowl.

"Let's go."

Sky pressed his lips together, glowering back. But after a glance Time's way and a steady nod from Time, Sky climbed on his loftwing and pulled Twilight up behind him.

"Hold on tight," was his only warning before he signaled his loftwing, and one moment they were steady on the ground and the next they were shooting upward on powerful wings, a gale whipping around them. The earth was dark and soared away from them in a familiar sight.

Twilight's grip on him abruptly turned brutal, and Sky winced.

"Hey!"

"Sorry," Twilight said though his grip didn't release in the slightest. Sky's loftwing banked and if anything his hold got tighter. "I've never flown before."

"We're not going to drop you," Sky said, surprised. He'd thought all of them were content in the air, a few more than others, sure, but he hadn't doubted after Shade's fearless flying with him on the way to Vah Medoh that Twilight, Shade's son, would be any different.

Clearly he was wrong.

"Just hurry up," Twilight growled, and Sky swallowed hard when he saw normal nails begin to lengthen into claws and flesh shift in the moon’s mysterious light. It almost looked furred for a moment there, but that _couldn't_ be right.

Thankfully on loftwing, the flight to the castle wasn't long though he'd gripped the reigns tightly in preparation for aerial maneuvers should they be attacked by a guardian or monster or Hylia knew what else. But like everything else about the night, it was turning out to be calm and peaceful. This might as well have been a leisurely flight.

Sky squinted through the darkness, trying to find a good spot to land before Twilight unlatched himself long enough to point.

"There. I see a courtyard. It looks clear."

Sky squinted and saw nothing but darkness. "How can you—?"

"I can see in the dark."

Sky's eyebrows vanished into his hairline because he didn't understand how that was even _possible_ , but it hardly mattered now, especially since it explained how the younger man could always see things coming in the dimmest areas. With nothing else to do except put his trust in Twilight and no alternative to take, he urged his loftwing down and was pleased to see that he was right. There was a courtyard bathed in darkness, but large enough and safe enough for a landing.

Once they were close with the ground, only a few feet away, he made to land but Twilight's vice on his body released and he dropped to the ground, landing in a crouch. The move startled Sky because he'd never had a passenger who wasn't Skyloftian do that before, and he leaned over his loftwing.

"You okay?"

"Fine," Twilight called up, eyes glinting like a wolf's in the dim light. "Hurry up and get Time."

"I'll be right back," Sky said, the unease in his stomach warring with Time's plan. Leaving Twilight here alone was a bad idea, but Time had suggested it, and he really did need to get Time. Besides, Twilight had agreed to the plan. Sky had to trust him.

That didn't mean he didn't make the flight back for Time as quick as he could.

"I didn't hear or see anything," Time said as he took Sky's hand and climbed up the moment the loftwing landed. "How were the skies? Guarded?"

"Quiet. There was nothing," Sky said. "Honestly, Time, I don't like it. It's like he's just welcoming us in. When I dropped off Twilight, I don't think there was a monster in sight. I didn't see any, and if he did, he didn't tell me."

"It's strange, that's true," Time agreed. "My Ganondorf always comes with a legion of followers. He is not an easy opponent, and I would not expect otherwise from any other Ganondorf either."

"But this shouldn't be a problem?" Sky asked. "Despite the difference, you and most of the others have fought and defeated him."

"We shall see," Time replied before going quiet. It didn't satisfy Sky like he'd wanted but he supposed it was better than words of certain doom.

Like before with Twilight, the skies were clear and silent and impossibly there were still no signs of activity. In one of the far towers there was a warm flash of firelight, but that could be anything and Sky didn't particularly want to consider the possibility that Ganondorf was _right there_.

Tonight they would fight him and tonight they would see if they would make it home.

He needed to make it home.

Recalling where the courtyard was was easier even without Twilight's help, and soon they were landing in the broken, overgrown courtyard with quiet flaps of red wings. Silently they slipped off his loftwing, and once on the ground he sent her away. The last thing he wanted was for her to get hurt when there was no need or way to protect her here. Better to keep her out of harm’s way and call her when they needed her than to risk it, though it was clear from the way she looked at him that she did not feel the same.

Still, she left on silent wings and soon they were standing in the courtyard, ready to begin. All around them broken stone spoke of an old battle, ruins left over from a time that had once seen prosperity and life. Sky peered into the shadows as Time did the same, searching for glinting eyes and waiting for a cool voice to call out to them and lead the way inward, as was the plan.

But there were no feral, glinting eyes. No cold voice. There was nothing at all, not even a footprint. Sky's stomach sank in time with Time's deep frown.

Twilight was gone.

* * *

**Twilight**

If they'd thought he would wait for everyone else before finding his father, they were mistaken. Twilight had waited only long enough for Sky's loftwing to vanish into the sky before he'd shifted forms and prowled into the darkness. He'd put up with them and their plans for days, and throughout all that time his inner wolf had bristled, pacing and snarling, waiting for things to change his way, and they finally had.

It was faint, but he could smell his father.

Nostrils flared and ears pricked, he set about searching the broken, long-dead remains of a castle that was not his yet still appeared so much like the one he knew. It wasn't his world's Hyrule, he knew that, but that didn't stop him from scenting death and blood over a hundred years old still seeped into cracks, forgotten by everything. In truth, there were times when such a scent lingered around his ancestor, but there had always been the stronger scent of life that clung to him too. Of wind and sweat and a hint of something refreshing, like grass or eucalyptus or lemon. But that scent of life he was picking up now was entwined with something spicier with heady depth, and soon he was slipping through shadows and around corners with little more than a whisper.

Time, he knew, was against him, both the man and the concept. The sooner he found his father, the sooner he could prove Shade's innocence, the sooner they could figure out why his fur kept raising at the sight of the other Link. There was something about Time, something after so long traveling with him that he _did not like_. Especially over the last few days, and Twilight just couldn't put words to it. It was only animal instinct.

But he knew Shade would know. His father had sensed it too when they'd first arrived, something off. It had to be that. It had to be him because none of the others bothered him like this. Sure, he did not like Wild or Sky, and truth be told, he was quietly fond of Wind, and there was something about Kid that he was still trying to figure out, even if he’d almost killed them all at the Korok Forest. He liked Kid, _genuinely_ liked the boy. His inner wolf delighted in spending time with Kid and he wanted to find him and save him as much as he wanted to find his father. It was so … strange.

But there was something about Time, and he suspected that if he could not find his father, and perhaps even Kid before all of this began, something unspeakable would happen.

The moon was his only companion as he made his way inward. He scented it the moment Sky and Time returned but he didn't give it thought, not when he was already so far ahead and so close to his father. But being this close made him slow because while he knew Shade was ahead, that spicy, heady scent was stronger too. A scent filled with old age, power, and death.

And they were coiled together, all but a new, telling scent.

Twilight couldn't help how his ears pressed against his skull and a small, imperceptible whine slipped out of his throat because he didn't know – didn’t _want_ to know – what that _meant_. The sound was inaudible to most, and that was fine.

Only one person would be able to hear it and know what it meant, and not a minute later a figure appeared at a broken doorway. His father's blue eye flashed with familiar feral light before landing squarely on him.

"Ganondorf's not here. He's already gone to the throne room," he said. "It's safe."

"What are you doing here?" Twilight demanded as he shifted. It hadn't been the first thing he'd meant to say, but it was the first to come out. "Father, what are you doing? Why are you talking to Ganondorf?"

"You know about that?" Shade glanced to the side for a moment before he gave a short laugh. "Kid. He contacted ... Wind, right?"

"It doesn't matter," Twilight said, following his father into a great, dilapidated library that would likely never be saved. "Is it true?"

"It is," his ancestor replied before standing next to a lantern where a book lay open. "Of course, that happened after we tried to kill each other. I imagine by now you understand it didn't work."

"You fought him?" Twilight echoed, a spike of worry thundering through his chest. "Are you all right?"

"Son," Shade sighed as he crossed his arms. "I'm undead. Of course I'm all right."

Twilight blinked. He didn't understand. "Then how come he's not—?"

"Because he's undead too. Like me." Shade snorted and shook his head. "It was pathetic, two old things giving everything they had to kill each other and failing. So, since we couldn't kill each other, we talked instead. Seemed a waste of time otherwise."

Twilight regarded his ancestor, trying to understand and in the end he decided to keep it simple. It was what he was good at.

"So you came here to kill him. And the only way we can do it is with the Master Sword."

"Correct," Shade said in the same way he’d always done every time Twilight had mastered a concept. "I tried everything else I knew. Anyone else would be dead, but he's tied to this world and its magics. The Master Sword, likely wielded by Wild, is the only way to end this."

"What about the form you took to fight the final hollow?" Twilight said, almost surprised by his desperation, but how could he not be? This was his father. His beloved ancestor. And after he'd come here to kill Ganondorf himself and failed, started talking to him, _smelled_ like him in ways Twilight didn't _want_ to understand, he had to cover everything. Hope there was a stone unturned that could fix this.

Prove to the others that Shade was the truest hero of them all.

His ancestor looked at him with a calm, cool blue eye before he sighed and leaned a hip against the aged table. It shook and creaked but didn't let the old warrior down.

"What's this about, Son?"

Twilight blinked, taken aback. "What do you mean?"

"I can smell your anxiety, but I wouldn't need that to see that you're bothered. Worried. That's not like you." His eye softened. "What's wrong?"

A beat passed and in the distance the sound of a cricket slipped through the air on the other side of the library. Twilight blinked, confused, but then that confusion slowly melted away as he realized that … Shade was right. His blood was agitated, his inner wolf would not stop pacing, torn between whining and growling, confused, worried, annoyed.

Angry.

"I'm … angry with you," he suddenly said, surprised, even as the words came out calm and cool. Brutally honest before this man he cared so much for. "You left me behind. You didn't tell me.” Twilight swallowed hard. “You didn't trust me."

"There's no one I trust more," Shade replied quietly. "But you're right. I should have told you. Perhaps I was afraid you would react the same way, though I know better. That, or I did not want to burden you with such knowledge."

"How would it have been a burden?" Twilight demanded, eyes hard. "You know everything about me, Father! My sins, my sufferings, my deepest desires. I know you're trying to protect me, but I don't need protection, not anymore. _You_ taught me to be strong." His lips pressed thin and Twilight couldn't hold his ancestor's eye, and his gaze dropped. "When will you let me be strong for you in return?"

He'd expected silence from his father, expected some sort of shame or guilt. Something.

But yet again, the Forgotten Hero surprised him.

"Now."

Twilight's head jerked up despite himself, and Shade gave him a small smile.

"What do you mean?" Twilight asked, trying not to notice how his heart raced, nor the way his inner wolf believed so quickly and so easily despite everything.

"Son," Shade said. "I will not be fighting in the battle to come between the others and Ganondorf."

Twilight's eyes widened, and the hotter pound of his heart turned cold with fear. "But father—!"

"It's not because of what you smell or because he has influenced me. It's nothing like that. I made a deal with him, one which required I not participate."

Twilight searched his ancestor, trying to understand. But he didn't. "I don't understand. Father, that last hollow almost killed us if it wasn't for you. We need you."

A grin cracked over his ancestor's lips, much to Twilight's surprise. " _You_ don't need me, son. I trained you. I know you can defeat him. I know Kid can defeat him. And while I don't know the others, I'm sure they can defeat him too. There are six of you and one of him. He won't be able to summon others to aid him, and you all have the Master Sword. I believe you'll win. As a matter of fact, I'm sure of it."

Twilight was not so sure. In his own world, he would have been sure. With Shade on their side, he would have been sure. But this was against a man who'd tormented this world for ten thousand years. A world the Link of this land had had to summon six others to fight. How could they do this when they'd almost died earlier without Shade?

That sure look in his father's eye didn't let up.

"I trust you, Link," he said, that look softening. "I trust you with my life. I'm trusting you _with_ my life, and everyone else's."

"But I'm not the strongest here, or the wisest," he couldn't help but say. "Father, I didn't even come here to save this world. I don't want to fight this Ganondorf. I want you safe. I want to find my way to the Twilight Realm again." Desperation flooded him and emotion tore through his control, making him snarl. "Father, I want—"

"Your princess. Midna," Shade finished. "I know. I've always known."

"I don't want to go back, and if we fight Ganondorf and succeed, this Zelda will send me back." Twilight's throat tightened and he glanced away. "I want to help, and I want you safe, and I want Ganondorf defeated. But more than anything, I want ... I want her. A chance to be by her side one more time."

His words came out as a faint whisper and his heart ached. He'd heard the others whisper. They thought he was a dog. A simpleton, all feral and teeth and silence. And he was that, but he was also _so much more_ than that. Midna had known that. His father and his Zelda had too, and right now he was lost and confused.

He blinked when a gauntleted hand slipped onto his shoulder and he looked up into his father's face. Although it was made of flesh and Hylian features, an old warrior made real again, he could still see the deadly titan who'd trained him. Raised him. Protected him.

Shade smiled kindly. "There's no one in the world who understands that more than I. And that's why, no matter what happens, I will send you there to the Twilight Realm. I found a mirror, and the way is yours."

After everything that was happening, everything that had happened, Twilight wasn't sure there was anything that could have surprised him, but this did. His breath left him and for a moment he lost sensation in his body. His father's hands held him as he rocked on his feet, his legs weak. Thoughtlessly he grabbed onto him.

"There's a mirror," Twilight said in disbelief. "You found it?"

"Yes," Shade said. "I did. It was another reason I came here."

The burn of tears slammed the backs of Twilight's eyes as emotion tore through him. Shade was always looking out for him. Taking care of him. Even after _everything_.

He took a shaking breath but couldn't stop from saying the next words. "If I asked, would you let me go now? Before the fight? Would you let me leave?"

Shade stared at him but there was no judgment there. "If you ask, son, then yes. You're right. You've been the hero of a world. You've answered your call when it came. No one has any right to ask you to do more. You or any of the others. So yes. If you ask, I will open the path for you."

Twilight's claws scratched against Shade's armor, and it was only then that he realized he was losing control of his form. He'd half expected Shade to tell him that he wouldn't, or only after they'd defeated Ganondorf. So much of his life had been a fight for what he wanted, a reward at the end after he had to suffer, but here his ancestor was, willing to give him what he wanted so long as he asked.

He'd never loved anyone more.

And still, no matter how much he wanted to say _yes,_ he couldn't.

Twilight's shoulders began to shake, and he dropped his head, teeth bared at no one but himself. He drew in a stiff breath that seemed to echo in the silence of the library, and he was so relieved that it was just him and his father. The one person he could trust not to judge. To never judge.

"I can't leave," he finally said, finding the strength to look up at Shade. "I can't leave them to fight Ganondorf. Not when I can help. Not when you need me."

His father sighed but gave him a tender smile filled with understanding. "It's not easy being a hero."

Twilight couldn't help but return the smile as he looked at the Forgotten Hero. The shadow that had endured ten thousand years. If anyone knew the demands of a hero, it was him.

His father nodded before letting him go once Twilight had his legs about him again. His form was under his control once more and after taking a breath to steady himself, he nodded back. He'd do this.

"But after the battle," Twilight said.

"The moment it ends," Shade promised before reaching into the satchel at his hip and producing a small key. "Here. Before you catch up with the others, let Kid out. He needs to be a part of the fight."

"Why'd you restrain him?" Twilight asked, taking it.

"To keep him out of trouble, frankly," Shade grunted. "Even Ganondorf didn't want to deal with him yet."

"He’s a handful," Twilight couldn't help but admit, and Shade smirked enigmatically before his features grew firm again.

"Remember what I taught you. I will be there, but I cannot interfere with the battle, but trust me when I say you can do this. That you all have what it takes to beat a husk." His father's eye was gentle but determined. "I know I haven't done much to earn it since we got here—"

"I trust you."

Shade blinked, and Twilight knew for a fact that it was difficult to surprise this old hero. He'd done and seen everything over ten thousand years, and so Twilight felt proud to see that surprised look flash there, if only for a moment. Despite this strange development and wager between Shade and Ganondorf, despite his own confusion about everything that was going on and his fear that he might never see Midna again, a smile slipped on his face.

"I've beaten him once. I know I can do it again. And you need us to win that wager for you, right?" Twilight asked before he sobered. "Father, is it worth it?"

A flash of pain flickered across his ancestor's face, but Shade gave him a stiff nod.

"It is."

"Then trust me."

His father's features softened.

"I always have, son."

Those words slipped into his ears even as Twilight shifted and began loping away toward Kid's cell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next post on Thursday


	18. The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At last we are here, the battle with Ganondorf. I hope you all enjoy!

**Wind**

It was dark when the radiance of the slate faded from around him and Wild, the only hint of light made by the shrine nestled deep below the castle. At least, Wind hoped they were deep below the castle, though with so much earth surrounding him, who knew where they were. It was dark and creepy, and the worst of it was that he couldn't feel the wind.

And when he couldn't feel the wind, it was always a bad thing.

"Are we in the right place?" Wind asked, not quite ready to slide off Wild's back. He wasn't scared or anything – he'd been under an entire ocean after all, and that had been scarier by a lot because drowning was on his list of top ways not to die – but he was still getting used to the fact that there was ground everywhere. Although he'd been underground several times, it didn't stop him from looking at the stone above and wondering if it might crack and fall on them.

"Yeah, this is right," Wild nodded, and reluctantly Wind climbed down, steadying himself by keeping a hand on the hilt of his sword, just in case. He felt ready and prepared for the fight ahead, but he always got nerves just _getting_ there. Beside him Wild pulled the slate out to study it, and after a few seconds he frowned.

"Is something wrong?" Wind asked. There had to be something wrong. In his experience when he got this close to evil, something _always_ went wrong.

"Not exactly. Everyone's here, but I think Twilight has split from Time and Sky, which wasn't the plan." Wild crouched to show the slate to Wind, and he saw on the map there that two unlabeled dots were making their way toward the throne room where they were supposed to meet everyone _after_ finding Kid. A rebellious dot was far away from the older pair, and although they weren’t close enough to be labeled, even Wind knew it had to be Twilight, though it took a moment for him to puzzle out why. His brow furrowed before he pointed.

"I think he's going after Kid on his own. Look, it almost seems like he's making a straight line there."

“It might also be Shade,” Wild warned. “Either way we’re close to their position too. We can meet up with them, I think."

Wind nodded before glancing at the rest of the map. "And if it’s Kid and not Shade … where's Shade?"

"Don't know," Wild replied. "But I think we should find one Link at a time for the time being. Are you still in contact with him?"

"Uh, yeah," Wind replied, pulling out the communication stone with a frown. Since finding out that Kid was trapped and they were on their way, Kid hadn't said much past that initial call no matter how much Wind had called. Time had asked questions, he'd asked questions, Wild had asked questions, but past wanting to know where they were and how long it would take them to reach him, Kid hadn't said anything else.

Wild frowned. "He's still not answering?"

"He might now that we're in the castle." Wind focused on Kid's stone. "Hey Kid, we just got in the castle. We're coming after you."

"It's about time!"

Wind winced before nodding to Wild. Together they began making their way through the castle.

"We're on our way, so hang tight. I don't know how many monsters are lurking about, but we'll be there soon."

Armed to the teeth like they were, both he and Wild had come fully prepared for a fight to not only free Kid, but fight Ganondorf and maybe even Shade. But as they moved through the old, deserted halls and broken, cavernous rooms, Wind knew he wasn't the only one bothered by how utterly deserted everything was. He, for one, kept expecting something to jump out at them from the shadows – even Ganondorf himself would've almost been okay given how pent up and anxious he was. But there was nothing.

Finally Wild broke the silence with a whisper. "We're close."

Wind gripped his sword when the sound in the air was disrupted not by the sound of feet but by rapid animal footsteps. "Do you hear that?" Wind slipped forward, bow drawn and arrow knocked. "I thought I heard something."

Wild frowned. "It might be Twilight."

"No, this sounds like something else. Like an animal, or one of those wolves we had to fight off on the way to the desert—there!"

The flash of animal eyes and the shadow of a massive furred form was all Wind needed to send an arrow flying with all the stress he was under. So much rode on their success – he wanted to get _home_ – that any threat was taken with utmost hostility. But his shot flew off when Wild yelled and from the other end of the corridor he heard a growl, a snap, paws lurching back before a voice, _Twilight's_ voice, broke through the darkness.

"Don't shoot! It's just me!"

"Twilight?" Wind said, confused as he lowered his bow. "But there was a wolf just there. Are you all right?"

"I was the wolf!" Twilight said as he came out of the darkness, a snarl on his face before he glowered at Wild. "You have the slate! You knew I was there, I heard you!"

"What?" Wind said, a quiet horror creeping in his chest because _this_ didn't make sense. How could that wolf have been Twilight? That was impossible. People didn’t just-just turn into _animals._ Except Shade, but he didn’t count because he was dead.

But here in the semi-darkness Twilight's eyes kept flashing like a beasts, and there had always been something primal about the hero. More than a few times Wind had thought he'd heard something prowling around the camp late at night. What if it had been Twilight?

What if he _could_ turn into a wolf?

"He can transform into a wolf, just like Shade can," Wild confirmed, and Wind didn't know what to think anymore. "Sorry about that, he didn't know."

"But you did," Twilight countered icily.

"Sorry," Wind said, rubbing the back of his head. "It's just this place is giving me the creeps, and the wolves I've met here in this world haven't been friendly."

Twilight frowned, but some of the hard fury wasn't there anymore. Wild arched a brow.

"What are you doing here? You were supposed to be with Time and Sky."

"They're on their way to the throne room if I had to guess. Or they should be anyway," Twilight replied before giving an idle shrug. "I didn't see the point in waiting for them when I could find Kid on my own."

"And not Shade?" Wild questioned.

Again Twilight shrugged before lifting his hand. A small silver key rested in his palm. "I have the key for Kid's cell, so I've come after him. My father gave it to me to let him out."

"So you have seen Shade," Wind said before looking at Twilight anxiously. "Is he okay? Is what Kid said true? Is he on Ganondorf’s side?"

Wind wasn't sure if he'd asked the wrong question, the right question, or both given the way Twilight's face shifted like water. But to his relief he didn't get angry. He didn't exactly look happy, but he wasn't angry.

"He's fine," he said before he motioned them to follow him. For a moment Wind was worried because the older Link simply strolled into the darkness as if it was nothing where he and Wild had had to cautiously creep. Twilight must have noticed his hesitation because he gave a small, faint smile. "I can see in the dark, and my hearing is much better than yours. So is my sense of scent. I know where we're going and I can see the way."

"That's really weird and really cool," Wind couldn't help but say as he and Wild followed along. Wild gave Wind a look like he didn't like this, and Wind guessed he could see where his friend was coming from a little, but he was more focused on finding Kid than anything.

"So what about it?" Wild pressed instead. "Is Shade on his side or—"

"He's not on Ganondorf's side," Twilight grunted, the moment of kindness he'd spared Wind gone. "Apparently Ganondorf is also undead, like my father. Shade couldn't kill him, nor could Ganondorf kill Shade. They're at a stalemate. We've got to do it." Twilight glanced over his shoulder at Wild, eyes glinting. "He thinks you’ve got to do it with the Master Sword."

Wind had traveled almost solely with Wild for almost a month now, and although they'd had discussions about the world here and what had happened and what Wild had done, they'd never had a direct conversation about killing Ganondorf and the Master Sword. Now he wished they'd had that conversation and talked less about Wind's Great Sea because the look Wild gave looked a little sick.

"The last time I fought darkness with that sword, it only made things worse."

"My father thinks this will be it," Twilight muttered before rounding a corner. "He and Ganondorf have made a deal. There's apparently a lot riding on this. We must defeat Ganondorf."

"What do you mean?" Wild demanded, but the words were lost or ignored by Twilight. Frankly they were ignored by Wind too when a familiar pack came into sight right in front of a closed, locked door. Both he and Twilight sprinted ahead, and Wind banged on the door when Wild nodded after checking the slate.

"Kid?" he called. "Kid, are you in there?"

"Finally!" Kid's muffled voice shouted through the thick wooden door. "Hurry up and get me out of here."

Twilight eased the key into the lock and with a click, it fell away. Wind shoved the door open only to have it yanked wider. One moment Kid was behind the door, the next he was right there in front of them, perfectly fine, perfectly rested, perfectly angry.

"What took you guys so long? I've been waiting in there forever."

"You're the one who took off, Kid," Wild pointed out with a glower. "If it wasn't for Wind and the slate, we wouldn't have been able to find you. Anything could have happened to you."

Wind watched anxiously because if anyone could have stopped Kid, it was him so he couldn't say anything. He didn't think it mattered though, not with the cold, hard look Kid gave before the other boy glanced away.

"I'd have been fine."

"You're not invincible, Kid," Wild pressed, and suddenly Kid glanced up and that cold look was coupled with harsh sardonic humor as he barked out a laugh that turned into bitter fury. His teeth showed and his eyes were like fire, and Wind thought for a second he was looking at Twilight, for some reason. A younger Twilight.

"Where is he?" Kid suddenly demanded with a furious snarl.

"Ganondorf?" Twilight asked, speaking for the first time. "He's in the throne room—"

"Not him," Kid said. "The old man."

"Shade?" Wind guessed.

"He'll be in the throne room too," Twilight said slowly. "Why do you want Shade?"

"Because I'm going to murder him," Kid burst out as he picked up his pack and gear and slung it on his back. "I don't know how, but I'm going to, and then we'll see about everything. Then we'll see—"

Abruptly he paused and Wind waited tensely as he glanced between Kid and a glowering Twilight. He already knew how far Twilight was willing to go for his father. Would they fight? They couldn’t afford it, not now.

"We don't have time for this," Wild said, breaking the tension with more bravery than Wind had, that was for sure. "If you have a fight to pick with Shade, do it after we fight Ganondorf and my Hyrule is saved. I don't fucking care what you do after that, but right now we have to meet up with the others. Can we at least agree on that?"

Kid's eyes flicked toward Wild then back at Twilight. There was a look there in the other boy's face that Wind hadn't ever seen before and didn't know how to describe, and while Twilight continued to stare coolly at Kid, almost daring him to say anything else about Shade, eventually Kid frowned and looked away.

"Come on, Kid," Wind finally said. "We can't do this without you. It's going to take all of us to beat him. We need you."

"I didn't say I _wasn't_ going to fight," Kid sighed before surprising him with a crooked grin. "It's the only way I'm going to get to Shade without putting everyone in danger again, I guess."

"Then let's go," Wild said, leading the way. "The others should already be on their way. It's time to face Ganondorf."

The older knights began moving away, but Wind couldn't help but linger behind with Kid just for a second longer.

"You're really okay?" Wind asked, and a more genuine smile slipped out of Kid, even if it was tight around the edges.

"Yeah. Honestly, all they did was lock me up. Ganondorf didn't bother me. Neither did Shade. I think they were just keeping me there until now."

Wind frowned. "My Ganondorf would never have done that."

"Neither would mine," Kid agreed. "You feel like something strange is going on?"

"What isn't strange about all of this?" Wind countered.

Kid made a face that said he didn't disagree before they both caught up to Wild and Twilight, and whatever struggles they would find in the throne room.

* * *

**Wild**

All things considered, things weren't that bad. They found Kid, Twilight wasn't about to sink his teeth into him yet, and despite whatever was going on with Shade, he would at least be there for the fight. They were meeting up with Time and Sky. It was all coming together.

All he could think about was the last time he'd been here. Fighting Calamity Ganon. Winning.

Ultimately realizing it for the defeat it truly was.

_It won't be like that again_ , he told himself viciously. _It won't._

Because it couldn't be. He didn't know what he or Zelda or anyone would do if this final attempt didn't succeed. So with each step, he forced himself to focus. Forced himself to think past the doubt sitting just behind his heart as he grasped the hilt of the Master Sword like his life and all others depended on it. He forced himself to think of the moment when they succeeded and he could send the other heroes back to their world so he and the princess could finally rebuild their land in peace.

He thought of the end, the _true_ end, and made himself focus only on that.

Just like when they'd first arrived here, there were no monsters to contend with and with Twilight's nose to warn them, finding their way through the castle was a matter of minutes when it had taken him hours the first time as he'd slunk and scurried and battled his way to Ganon. It was all surreal. Like it shouldn't be happening at all and he was in some death-induced dream that would shatter any moment now.

But it didn't. Not when he saw the others. Not when they pushed open the door to the battered and demolished throne room. Not when he stepped over the threshold, and not when he saw the Calamity himself with his mane of furious red hair lounging upon the throne in the moonlight as Shade leaned against a wall, arms crossed over his chest.

This was real. This was all real. It was coming to a head again. This was the brink of the final conclusion. He and the others of Farore's Chosen from across worlds here to help him take down this one man.

It was all _real_.

And so much was on the line.

"You took your time getting here," Ganondorf said with an amused smirk, still reclined leisurely against the throne. "I was starting to wonder if I should have put up signs. Would you have liked a monster or two to keep you fresh? I thought you'd all like to come at me at your best, but I've been mistaken before."

Wild wasn't sure what he'd expected, seeing this man again. Terror had claimed his heart the first time, but now?

All that filled him was fury.

The Master Sword was in his hand, gripped tightly, shining and ready for battle. "We're here to end you, Ganondorf, and to take back Hyrule. This ends today!"

The Gerudo King eyed him, eyed them all before chuckling softly and his gaze flicked toward Shade. Shade didn't move past arching a brow, and another laugh slipped out of the Gerudo before he rose to his feet.

"The six of you against me. There's a lot riding on this fight you know. I'm not going to let you succeed."

"Six?" Sky said, bewildered. "You mean the seven of us."

"I will not be participating in this battle," Shade said, his voice a low boom that was almost startling. "He and I have made a deal, and he's right. There's more riding on this than you realize. You must defeat him."

"This wasn't part of the plan," Time said, brow furrowed as he glanced at them all.

"At least he's not fighting against us," Sky said stiffly. "I don't know if we'd be able to fight them both."

"I've spoken to my father," Twilight said, his voice little more than a growl as his teeth bared. They were sharper than normal. Everything about the other knight was sharper. "Ganondorf won't die by normal means. My ancestor attempted to kill him but Ganondorf is also undead. The only way we can kill him is with the Master Sword."

"Then we must work together to clear a path," Time decreed. "Whatever it takes, one of us must use the Master Sword to defeat Ganondorf. That is the only way we will succeed. Are we in agreement?"

There were nods but Wild frowned. He just wanted this to end. There was nothing he wanted more.

But there was something wrong about the way Time had said that. He supposed it was true that any of them _could_ do this, wield the Master Sword and defeat Ganondorf for him. They were all Heroes of Courage. He'd even tested it. The sword shined for them all. He didn’t _have_ to be the one to do it.

His chest tightened and he funneled the anxiety into a stiff glower at the ancient Gerudo King. This was his world, and yes, he should be the one to take it back. But he wasn't alone and if one hero was as good as the next, it wouldn't matter who did the deed in the end.

Wild hoped, anyway, even if a deep-seated part of him was _sure_ the responsibility should be his.

Ganondorf, the Gerudo King, Calamity of Wild's world – of so many of their worlds – clad in the finest fabrics and shining gold looked down upon them and smiled with benediction. This close to the center of so much dark and condensed power, familiar and so much worse than his Ganon form, Wild could all but feel their enemy prepare himself. This was it. This was happening.

"Well," Ganondorf said with a sly smirk. "If you're not going to start this, what sort of host would I be if I didn't, shall we say, move things along?"

It was by some miracle of Hylia that they managed to scatter in time before a massive fireball abruptly manifested in a clear attempt at murdering them all.

Everything moved in earnest from there.

This fight was somehow the longest, shortest, and most brutal battle of Wild's life, and he counted his first failure with Calamity Ganon in that. He blinked and sometimes it seemed as if the sky had turned to day. He breathed and he wasn't sure if his heart was steady or beating with all it had to keep him in the game. Arrows vanished from his quiver but somehow still appeared knocked and ready on his bow whenever he needed them. His perception of reality had shattered. This fight was bizarre and impossible. Desperate and unbelievable.

But there was something different about this one.

It took some time, but Wild definitely thought they were winning.

That wasn't to say it was an easy battle because it wasn't. It had taken time for the six of them to find their mutual battle rhythm against Ganondorf and his seemingly endless strength and power. Some, like he, Twilight, and Kid attacked at close range. They were the fastest, and while he'd been concerned about Kid's abilities he soon found he needn't be. Kid was a dirty fighter, using brutal tricks and vicious attack patterns to tear into Ganondorf wherever possible, and when coupled with Twilight's cold ferocity and determined spirit, Wild was quietly relieved they were both on his side. Between the two, they were relentless, practically a seamless team moving as an impossible unit.

Though, strangely enough, it was clear that if Ganondorf had preferred targets, it was those two.

Twilight he supposed he understood, given that he was Shade's descendent and it seemed as close to attacking and goading the stoic Shade as the Gerudo seemed able. Why he focused on Kid though was confusing, but frankly everything about Kid was confusing. Especially when Kid revealed he could change into different forms at whim, an action which saved Wild when another fire attack would've roasted him if a Goron hadn't materialized out of thin air.

"Be careful, okay?" the Goron said with Kid's impish grin before it was Kid again, Kid stuffing something into his hip pouch before launching forward with his sword as he returned to the melee.

In-between their bouts, Sky and Wind rained a steady stream of arrows, momentarily blinding Ganondorf or restraining him long enough for the rest to deal damage. Time also added his arrows, but his role in this seemed to be of support and direction. He kept an eye on the battle, noting weaknesses and directing new battle plans. He healed when one of them took significant damage and distracted with his bow to give the rest time to momentarily recover.

But no matter how hard they fought, it seemed that Wild could never get close enough to deal the final blow with the Master Sword.

They'd get close, countless times they'd gotten close. The wounds they inflicted in the beginning when Ganondorf was stronger always healed immediately, appearing and vanishing as Shade’s had in the Korok Forest. But they soon learned that the more power he threw at them, the longer it took him to heal, and so they'd had to play more dangerous and risky maneuvers that could easily kill them if only for a chance to weaken him. Wild found that a simple stab through the chest when Ganondorf was strong and young-looking wasn't good enough.

The wound that wouldn't recover on the Gerudo's side was from the one time Wild had gotten lucky enough to slice him while he'd been ancient and husk-like told them everything they needed to know.

True to his word, however, Ganondorf wasn't making it easy.

Once they'd realized how to beat him, his fighting style became erratic, and if they'd thought he'd been unleashing powerful attacks at them before, it was nothing compared to what he now threw at them with vicious glee. It was ... strange. All Wild's life he'd heard stories of Calamity Ganon. When Ganondorf had emerged after Ganon’s defeat, he'd thought this ancient warrior would be cold and hard, determined to destroy and conquer.

It seemed to Wild that more than anything, he was enjoying himself. He'd even hazard to say that amidst the onslaught the six of them threw his way, he was having _fun_.

Wild wondered if the old Gerudo cared. If Ganondorf was truly taking this as seriously as they were. What was on the line for him? What was his and Shade's deal? More than a few times throughout the fight the Gerudo King would _somehow_ find the time to chat with Shade as if none of this was happening. Shade for his part seemed bored by these interactions though there was always fire in his eyes when Ganondorf deliberately targeted Twilight or Kid.

But Shade made no move or word to help them. The old knight was a silent spectator, and while the attacks sometimes hedged or moved his way entirely, causing him damage, he did not move from his spot.

Wild didn't know how long it had been before their opening finally came. It seemed like an age and it felt like an eternity. His body was weak and injured, they all were. Their movements were slowing and they were all running desperately low on equipment. He was down to his Master Sword only, having used or given the rest of his arsenal to the others as they'd needed, and healing potions and food and fairies had long since been used.

Kid for his part was still on his feet somehow with a tenacious grit that Wild couldn't believe as the small boy kept Ganondorf's attention settled squarely on him. Twilight was unconscious after being thrown at a wall so brutally Wild's breath left him and Shade had shoved upright from his place leaning against the broken ruins of the castle, eye burning with red fire that only cooled when Twilight breathed and Wind promised he was okay despite the blood coating his hair.

Sky and Wind were out of arrows and bombs and took turns relieving Kid and Wild when they weren't taking bombs from Wild, at least until Ganondorf managed to pummel them both with a spell so strong they'd screamed and collapsed. Wind was dazed and Sky had to scramble to drag the boy out of range of another attack that would've killed him. Unfortunately it left him vulnerable, and he received a wound to the leg that left him unable to stand, let alone move at any pace that would've kept him safe.

It left himself and Time to help Kid, and Time was doing what he could to distract Ganondorf where he could until the strain on Wild and Kid became too much and Time showed just how seasoned a knight he was. With a sword in hand, he engaged Ganondorf with a focused intensity that was so unexpected and startling that even Ganondorf had retreated momentarily to regroup. The other knight wasn't playing around and having an advantage, however momentary, seemed intent on pressing it.

Kid tried to keep up, but it almost seemed, oddly enough, like Time wouldn't let him into the fight. Time's sword was like a sharp bird, moving around Ganondorf with speed and fury, and with every strike a bit of the old Gerudo's true flesh was revealed. With so much energy spent fighting them and no relief to call forth, Ganondorf _was_ weakening. Powerful attacks were coming more sporadically, and the amusement of earlier was condensing into hard looks and snarls of concentration.

But Wild was so tired and the last attack had hit him directly. If it hadn't been for the power of the Master Sword, he'd have been killed for sure, but as it was he'd been thrown into a wall that collapsed. It was only the final bit of Daruk's Protection that had saved him from being crushed, but he was still pinned to the ground by the rubble. It would take time for him to work his way out, and until then he could only watch as Kid and Time fought with everything they had, which couldn't be much more.

They were at an end. If something didn't change, a stalemate was coming, and Wild couldn't handle another failure.

Muscles shaking and mouth filled with dust, Wild attempted to struggle free again and one moment it was just him and the next a flash of green caught his eye before Kid slammed into a rock several feet away before groaning with pain as he slumped over, clutching his side. Blood slipped down his face and his teeth were bared.

The boy's blue eyes fluttered and shown with pain and bewilderment.

"Surprising," Ganondorf suddenly said, pausing to stare at the Hero of Time before he glanced at Shade, who'd pushed away from his spot, muscles tense as he also frowned at the hero.

Wild had missed something, but that bewildered pause seemed to be what Time was looking for because suddenly he launched a powerful magical attack he'd had in reserve somehow. The condensed shot of energy hit Ganondorf in the center of his chest, and by the time the light had faded enough to see again, Ganondorf was left purely in his ancient, husk-like state, entirely vulnerable.

"Wild!" Time yelled, eyes flashing toward him, hand outstretched. "Wild, the sword!"

Wild didn't think. There was too much going on, so much it was happening so fast. Ganondorf was vulnerable for the moment under their combined efforts, his skin flashing as Shade's had with the truth of his undead form. This was the time to strike and given the state of them all, beaten, on their last legs, low on weapons, arrows, energy and heart, this had to end. Somehow this had to end _now_ before the Gerudo King recovered enough to finish them once and for all.

Wild threw the Master Sword with all he had, even if every instinct within him suddenly screamed not to.

But his aim was true and the Master Sword sailed through the air like a star straight into his ally’s waiting palm. Time seemed to stop for a moment, everything seemed to stop as Time gripped the weapon tight in his hand, eyes firm and aim true as he brought it down. From the sidelines, Shade looked on with a deep frown as if something was wrong before grasping his head in pain, but nothing could stop Time. Nothing at all.

Wild watched as the Hero of Time pierced Ganondorf through with the Master Sword, settling the fight and ending the battle completely.

* * *

**Time**

Time stared at the Ganondorf of this world as the undead, broken thing writhed upon the Master Sword he'd just used to defeat it. The creature, the beast, one of the banes of his existence was right here on the threshold of death, and he'd put it there. It had taken time, and truly he hadn't been sure it would happen this way. When he’d arrived, he’d thought of all the ways he could use this world. Ways, if he was clever and careful, he could take advantage of it – whether it be for the Ocarina of Time, the Triforce, or anything else of power he might find here. To see if his plans could be realized here, even without the unwilling aid of his own Ganondorf and Zelda.

And now, he was about to find out.

The energy of the fight broke and whatever spell that had settled upon them now was over as victory had truly and clearly fallen on their side. The magic which rejuvenated Ganondorf fell away and he was little more than a red-eyed husk, still twitching with ancient life like a dying cockroach but without threat. Here in this throne room, there was a definitive change in the world. Even though he wasn't from here, he could _feel it_.

Time lifted his chin as he looked down at Ganondorf. "I've defeated you, Ganondorf of this world’s Hyrule. Your reign is over." Slowly he knelt beside the dying, undead thing and then moved closer still. "Let's see if your power is now mine."

A dry, raspy breath attempted to rip out of the husk, but it didn't matter, not now. All around them he could see flashes of green and blue and steel move from their places of hiding and rubble, each of them in some way or another proving they were unworthy of what would come next. What he had earned and taken.

Shade jerked as the Power of Din gathered, and Time glanced up long enough to see a blue eye widen.

"No," Shade breathed, and Time was irritated but unsurprised that the undead hero understood what was happening. It didn't matter though. None of it mattered because he'd defeated Ganondorf and had won the right none of the others had dared to take.

No one would take this from him.

With endless will and pure courage, the Hero of Time focused and felt boundless power fill his body as both he and Ganondorf glowed gold. His Triforce mark glowed, and in a surge, he had not one glowing triangle, but two. His theory had proved correct. The attempt had been a success.

He was a step closer now, and the end was practically before him. At last. At long last.

Time possessed a Triforce of Power, and it wouldn’t be long before a Triforce of Wisdom was his as well.

* * *

**Kid**

Too much had happened for Kid to be thinking straight, and being in a different world fighting a different Ganondorf was the easiest of it all.

After everything, he'd expected ... hellfire, he didn't know what he'd expected. He'd expected the fight with Ganondorf at the least, but that the other heroes would work with him and trust him again when now more than ever he didn't trust himself? That Shade would keep his word and butt out? That Shade _was_ him, and that even when he and Twilight had been in danger, he hadn't moved a muscle? Didn't he care?

But watching Twilight move, he had to admit, Kid thought he understood why. The young knight was well-trained and strong. Somehow, despite everything, despite never having fought together directly, he and Twilight had moved together as an efficient team. Their motions were effortless. Seamless. It was like speaking a language he’d never shared with anyone before and suddenly finding a fluent speaker. Never in Kid's life had he fought with anyone who'd just ... clicked with him in battle.

And of course Twilight did. A future him had trained the boy. A future him had cared enough about Twilight to train him and keep him safe. Loved him enough to trust him with his future.

The fury that had torn through Kid when Ganondorf had injured Twilight had been unexpected and sudden, almost too much for him to bear, and the quite jabs and sneers from the Gerudo who clearly understood what he was doing only drove Kid further. He would _end_ this old thief, just like he had the one on his world before. Just like he had fought evil countless times now.

He would have defeated Ganondorf and saved this world, saved Twilight, if Time hadn’t blindsided him with an attack that had thrown him back into rubble so hard he'd blacked out for a moment.

That moment apparently had meant everything, because when he came back to himself and forced the stars out of his eyes through pure will, everything had changed.

Watching Time stand with the Triforce of Power embedded in his hand was not what he’d been expecting, and he could do little more than gape. He wasn't sure anyone else had noticed. Wild was too busy pulling himself out of rubble and catching his breath with a bleary-eyed Wind at his side, and Twilight was still out cold and bleeding and clearly in need of aid. Sky was all but limping to Time, a smile plastered on his face, but he didn't see the new glow in the other Link's hand. Didn't notice the satisfaction that rested there on a face so familiar to him it was almost sickening.

Kid had seen satisfaction like that before. Of a goal accomplished. Of finally getting what they'd wanted for so long. Sometimes – most times – that was a good look.

But this one wasn't. Without a doubt, Kid was certain something was wrong, and his hands clenched tighter. From across the room, his eyes met Shade's hard blue gaze, one filled with hardening realization and dread.

Something was _wrong._

"Time!" Sky said, finally reaching Time where he stood over Ganondorf. "We did it! You led us to victory. We can all go home now." The smile on Sky's face was almost blinding with relief, and it was only instinct that drove Kid to move. Time smiled at the other Link gently. Benevolently.

"You are the first that will return, my brother," Time said, hands on his shoulder. "You'll return to your wife. You'll have many children that will fill your world and build the line of heroes I know it will. I only wish they existed already."

"But that's one of the reasons why I've been so determined to get back," Sky said eyes filling with tears of relief and gratitude. "My Zelda, before I came here she told me she was pregnant. You didn't just help me get home, Time, you've brought me back to my family." Sky gripped Time's free hand in his. "I could never thank you enough."

Kid shoved up, face twisted and a pained groan in his throat, trying desperately to get to his feet in time. Time had removed the Master Sword from Ganondorf, who was still in the final, lingering throes of death. Kid saw the glint in Time's eyes and knew danger was near and Sky was too close. Too close!

Time's eyes widened at Sky. "I didn't realize you'd already sired progeny. She's with child?"

"Yes!" Sky said, face bright. "I can't wait to see them."

Time smiled at Sky gently before burying the Master Sword in Sky's torso.

"Then there's no reason now. Your line is assured, we — _I —_ am assured, Progenitor. I don't need to keep you alive any more now that I know I am safe."

Kid had seen a lot in his time, and a great deal of it wasn't good. It was why he tried so hard to maintain a chipper, child-like persona, keep moving endlessly, never stopping because if he stopped, if he let that persona drop, then he'd have to face those horrors, some of which he'd performed himself.

But somehow watching one of their own pierce another of their kind with the Master Sword, the sword meant to destroy darkness and evil, _their sword_ , was so blasphemous Kid's mind blanked. He stared, dumb, as Sky's face crumpled, and gripping the hilt of the blade he fell to his knees. Blood trickled out of the wound, soaking the green of his armor and clothing, and his eyes blinked furiously, fighting the draw of unconsciousness.

"What?" Sky gasped, but Time was already looking away from him. It almost seemed as if he didn't see them at all now. Like he saw something else entirely.

Kid jolted back to himself.

"What are you doing?" Kid demanded, his voice cracking through the throne room and drawing every other pair of eyes in the shocked silence as he threw himself forward. Time reacted immediately, letting go of the Master Sword to instead knock Kid's sword out of the way with his gauntlet and a flash of unnatural power as he danced away. Kid snarled. "What have you done? What do you think you're doing, Time? Why do you have the Triforce of Power now?"

"You're strangely perceptive sometimes, Kid," Time said lightly, a small smile on his lips. "I never give you enough credit. You're surprisingly dangerous."

"Everyone, get up!" Kid commanded, his snarl in place as he launched himself again and again. "The fight's not over! Time's taken the Triforce of Power, and—"

"And I will rule this world," Time said simply before he lifted his hand. It began to glow. "Soon I will rule all worlds."

The cold power of the spell the Hero of Time sent their way was truly breath-taking in its intensity, and while he wasn't sure if it was an attack stronger than Ganondorf's had been, there was no denying that in their mutually beaten, broken, dying state that it was overwhelming.

The breath was knocked out of him as he was thrown back into Wind. The other boy gasped and cried out but seemed uninjured. Kid was already on his feet, bouncing back with a spring onto screaming legs, throwing himself forward because _no_. _NO_. He hadn't done all of this to find out that it was a Link of all of them that they had to defeat in the end. They were the Heroes of Courage. They were _good_.

He was _good_.

But Time wasn't where he was supposed to be. Instead he was going for the Master Sword embedded in Sky. Before he could take it, however, Shade was there, sword raised and eye narrowed.

"No," he said, his tone filled with the same hard determination Kid was filled with before he attacked Time. Keeping out of the fight as Shade had meant he was fresh with energy, but Kid wasn't sure how that would match up against the Triforce of Power. Frankly, because Time had held back until the end, he was relatively fresh compared to the rest of them, and Kid watched in impotent anger as they appeared like mere flickers in the air, pausing only long enough to cross blades before moving again.

This was insane. All of this was insane, it couldn't be possible.

But there Time was with the Triforce of Power and the Triforce of Courage.

"I thought you weren't to intervene, ancient corpse," Time said as he threw himself at Shade hard enough his glamor flickered. "This wasn't a part of the deal."

"The deal wasn't made with you," Shade snarled before he attacked again, and again Kid's eyes lost sight. He didn't know what was going on. He didn't know what to do. Sky was bleeding out, Twilight was still unconscious, and Wind was helping Wild get to his feet while Ganondorf continued his slow death. Everything was a mess. Nothing was as it was supposed to be.

Irrationally, all Kid could think to do was throw himself after Time and Shade and help his older self.

"You're never going to win, no matter how old or strong you are," Time said against Shade just as they met again long enough for Kid to enter the fight. "I've two Triforce pieces. This is right. This is what's meant to be."

"No, it's not!" Kid snarled as he slashed. He caught Time at his side but the power surrounding him protected him from harm. His blade slid harmlessly off, and Time laughed as he threw them back.

Kid almost fell over, but Shade caught and righted him before that happened. Both stood at the ready with their swords raised in identical form. They stood identically. They glowered with the same soul.

"What do we do?" Kid demanded of Shade where they stood together facing Time.

"Can't remember," Shade replied, grip tightening on his sword. "I—"

He didn't get to finish. Instead, Time threw himself forward, this time with a random sword that hadn't been destroyed in the fight. The sound of Time and Shade’s swords crossing was deafening, and Kid felt useless standing there. They had to defeat Time but how were they supposed to do that when he had so much power now?

They were gridlocked once again as Shade threw everything he had at Time. Kid ran forward, but to his surprise Shade stopped him.

"No, Kid," Shade said through gritted teeth. "Listen."

Kid wanted to scream at Shade because the old man had to have gone senile in his old age, but he didn't when he heard low, familiar humming. Strangely enough, it almost sounded as if it was coming from himself and resonated in his chest. It almost seemed as if he _knew_ this song, or had known it. Or would know it. Kid could _feel_ it in his heart.

This was a song of power. This was meant to be played on the Ocarina of Time.

His brow furrowed. "What?"

"Think, damn you!" Shade snarled as he moved with Time through the battle he now fought, and as irritated as Kid was, this time he did as he was told because Shade wouldn't have done this if it didn't _mean_ something. But the old hero knew he didn't have an ocarina. The old hero didn't have one himself, and to play a song like that, they'd need an ocarina. They'd need the Ocarina of Time.

Kid's eyes abruptly widened, and he stared at Time as if for the first time. Time was a Hero of Time.

Wouldn't it make sense that he'd have an ocarina?

It was all he had to go on and he knew the melody filling his soul wouldn't last long. If Time had an ocarina, he had to find it. He didn't have the slightest idea what the song would do but if it would stop the mad Link from doing whatever he was going to do, he _had_ to play it. He had to trust Shade. He had to trust himself.

Shade was completely engrossed in the fight and Wild and Wind were focusing on Sky who'd gone still and pale. Kid wasn't sure if he was even still alive, but he couldn't think about that now. If Time had an ocarina, Kid had to take it. That had to be Shade's plan. They were the same person, after all. It only _made sense._

But where?

Kid studied Time then thought about where he might have put it. If he and Shade were the same person, and they'd used the Ocarina of Time, maybe Time wasn't so different from them either? What if Time was just a them that had taken another path?

And if that was the case, where would he have hidden it?

An idea sparked in his mind and Kid was already moving before he could second guess. Shade had Time distracted for the moment and Kid was fast.

His hand was in and out of Time's pouch in a second and when he withdrew it the familiar shape of an ocarina rested in his palm. They might not have been the same Link and may have been from different worlds, but even he could feel the power emanating from the object.

This was the Ocarina of Time.

Time must have seen it out of the corner of his eye because his eyes widened. Kid involuntarily took a step back, keeping it out of the way and ready to run, but Time surprised him and shocked Shade. Instead the twisted knight veered, sword raised.

He was headed for Twilight who was still prone and vulnerable. Open to attack.

"No!" Shade shouted as he dove, but Time had the advantage. He was already half there, sword ready to kill and Kid's heart stopped. That was Shade's descendent. _His_ descendent. Twilight was in trouble. Grave trouble.

Kid didn't think. He only moved.

For the first time since he’d sworn off the magic, Kid placed the Ocarina of Time to his lips, and played a song – Shade's song – his fingers moving across the ocarina's holes as if he’d done this a million times before, and would a million times more.

As the final note screamed into the air, Kid watched as the world around him stopped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you're excited for the next chapter :]
> 
> Next post on Monday, and happy new year!


	19. Not the End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! I hope you're excited for what's to come because we're entering the final arc of the story and I'm so excited to share it. You'll notice that we now have a clear number of chapters in the story so you can see how close we are to the end. The story has been completely done since the first chapter was posted so the chapters will continue to post as per the established schedule.
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

**Shade**

The world was frozen around Shade, still and gray as the phantom scream of an ocarina note resonated endlessly in the air, locking time in place. He stumbled because he should’ve been as immobile as the rest of the world was. The spell should have affected everyone, including himself, and he had no memory of this.

And yet he was moving, and without hesitating, he took advantage of the frozen arch of Time's sword over the vulnerable form of his injured son. Experience taught him he didn't have long. The spell was tied to the strength of the one who'd cast it, and it was not him.

That left only one person.

"Wha-what's going on?"

Shade was already sweeping up Twilight's limp body in his arms and trotting toward the others as Kid ran toward him, hand tight on the ocarina and eyes dancing around, expecting an attack that wouldn't come ... for now.

"We're both still moving," Shade said, thinking quickly, trying to come up with a plan with the time they’d stolen. Something to stop Time, fix all of this, save Twilight, save Kid, save _all_ of them. It was all he could do to focus on Kid's question. "Even though I don't remember this, it makes sense. We are the same person."

"What h-happened?" Kid demanded, and it was only the tight breathlessness in Kid's voice that made Shade pause for a moment he didn't think they had. The boy was beaten, covered in wounds, an eye was swollen and black, and his legs trembled. But he held his sword tight in one hand, the ocarina in the other, and his eyes burned with determination and ferocity despite everything.

Good. The boy was holding on.

But it wouldn't last.

"That spell stopped time," he admitted. "But not for long. We need to get everyone out of here. The spell will last until either you run out of strength, or another spell is cast," Shade explained as he glanced around, trying to understand. Trying to piece something together. Trying, trying, trying. "And you're already feeling the strain. Don't lie."

"I wasn't going to," Kid grunted. "What do we do?"

"I don't know yet, I can't remember," Shade replied. Sky was impaled and dying. Twilight was unconscious. Wind and Wild could move, but they were at their ends like Kid was too, and while Shade could fight Time, two pieces of the Triforce against one could potentially overwhelm even him at this stage. What they needed to do was retreat. They needed to heal and regroup, find a way to either defeat Time or take the Triforce of Power away from him like he'd taken it from Ganondorf, and—

Shade's thoughts skidded to a halt as he thought of Ganondorf. Earlier he'd been too distracted by Time's attack on Kid to feel much about the fatal blow dealt to the Gerudo King, and then Time’s subsequent betrayal to have paid much attention to the old foe. But now he looked at Ganondorf, _really looked at him_ , and while his attractive, youthful glamour was gone leaving him as bare and shrunken and vulnerable in his ancient form as he truly was, his eyes were still glowing faintly with life he hadn't quite given up yet. Ganondorf, for the time being, was still alive.

And he was the true holder of the Triforce of Power.

All at once a path opened up in his mind, a plan that might somehow save them all, at least for now. It might even fix everything if they were lucky, but for now he couldn't think that far. All he could do was do what he could right now, and hope they'd have everything they'd need for later. That somehow they'd manage to pull off the impossible.

That he could help create the impossible one more time.

"I have a plan," he finally told his younger self. "How long do you think you can keep holding on?"

They stared at each other and like this, the childish bravado and immature arrogance Kid liked to show was gone entirely, replaced with adult seriousness and maturity. They might be feuding between themselves, but not right now. Not like this. "Not long. Maybe a few more minutes. I'm already feeling the pull."

Shade frowned because it wasn't ideal, but anything was better than Time murdering them once the spell was over and doing what he suspected he would do.

"We need to get everyone out of here so once the spell ends, there will be time enough that we can all escape back to the Great Plateau. I just don't know how we can do it."

"I think Wild can t-transport one of us if he's holding them with the slate,” Kid said tightly, his shoulders starting to shake. “I-I think that's how he and Wind got here. If that's the case, he needs to take Sky with him. There's no way he can m-move. It’ll kill him."

"Agreed,” Shade said. “And Sky's loftwing could take you and Wind, especially if Wind can give it a headwind to fly back. You'll need it. You won't have the strength to do much of anything once the spell ends."

"Then what about T-t-twilight?" Kid asked, and for the first time Shade noticed the way Kid looked at Twilight. Like he was worried and afraid to be worried. Distant but caring and afraid to care but already caring _so much_. "He can't move, n-not like this."

Shade frowned as he looked at his – their – descendent. This young man who'd agreed to fight for this world, to fight this Ganondorf even when it hadn't been his responsibility. Who'd made courageous decisions again and again.

"I'll take care of Twilight," Shade promised. "And I can make it to the plateau on my own. We'll regroup with the princess and develop the next phase of the plan, but right now the focus is on escape."

"Then we'd b-better get s-s-started," Kid stuttered as he gritted his teeth before donning the Goron mask. While it was slow, it was also strong, and they only needed to go so far to get everyone to safety. Time wouldn't understand immediately what had happened or how to stop them, and that would give them a few more precious moments.

Kid scooped up Wind and Wild on one shoulder and carefully carried Sky and the Master Sword still lodged in his gut in his other arm. His focus meant he didn't notice when Shade bent down to take Ganondorf’s shrunken corpse under an arm, then went to a hidden alcove where the Mirror of Twilight was protected and took that too. Soon he and Kid were out of the throne room and in a lower landing with access to the sky. Above they could make out the form of Sky's loftwing. So long as everything went right, this might work.

Because there wasn't time for anything else. Kid pulled off the Goron mask and fell forward, huffing with exertion on his hands and knees. He was pale and sweating, shaking violently with the effort of holding on. He couldn't last much longer.

"I'm going to cast a spell," Shade told him as he placed Twilight and the mirror on the ground. "It's going to break the hold on time we have, and while I do this you must tell everyone what they need to do."

"And if T-time catches up?"

Shade's brow furrowed and he glowered in the direction of the throne room. "Then I'll deal with him." He glanced back at Kid. "You need to trust me."

Kid didn't say anything, only clenched his hands against the ground a time or two before saying, "I'm ready."

Shade was already focusing on his spell.

He felt the glamor concealing his spirit form fall away to reveal the spirit-flesh and bones that were his true form. Pure green light curled around him, slowly growing silver and as it did the world once again began to move. The eternal echo of the ocarina's spell faded as the world breathed again but he couldn't hear it, not when he was so fixated.

Not when he held Ganondorf's desecrated corpse before him, his spell beginning to close in. The Gerudo’s head rolled as he blinked and eyed him as blandly as only the undead could.

"You and your kind won, old hero," Ganondorf rasped. "It's over. Let me die. It’s been long enough."

Shade barked out a laugh that was at odds with the danger around them before hauling the husk closer. He could only imagine the nightmare they made. A corpse and a ghoul. But like this – his real self – he felt strangely alive even if he had no true body to boast such a thing. Dare he say it, this close to a major threat with only moments to spare, he almost felt playful. Like he and Ganondorf had traded places.

"Giving up already? That's not like you. You're not leaving until I'm leaving, old king, because there is still work to do." Shade pulled him closer and if either had had lips, they'd have been brushing. "I’ve won our bet, and are you really going to let a usurper steal your power?"

The huff of breath that came out of Ganondorf would've been nothing if he hadn't seen the way the thin, dried skin of his lips somehow lifted in reluctant mirth. Shade’s spell intensified, curling around them, sinking into the Gerudo without resistance.

"I see," Ganondorf said, his bones popping and grinding as the wound in his torso began to heal as energy bridged between them. Connected them. Tied them soul to soul. "They won't like it."

"It will save this world. It will save all of them.” Shade snorted. “Besides, as I said, I won the bet."

"But the bet wasn't about saving _them_ , Hero."

Healed, Shade set Ganondorf on his feet and although the undead corpse wavered slightly he didn't fall. Shade straightened.

"I don't think you care," he said. "We're on the same side now. We're tied together now. You wanted things to change. You wanted things to be different. Why not start now?"

Skeletal hands curled into his armor, pulling him close, and like this – undead titans – they were just about the same height. If they'd been young and alive, this would've been unrelentingly intimate.

"Fair enough," Ganondorf replied before lifting a hand with the mark of the Triforce still on it, even if it was dark. "Besides. He doesn't deserve my power. I will take it back. And I will even help your whelps along. I suppose, by then, they'll have earned it."

A gust of wind flooded the area just as the light of Wild's slate flashed behind them. Wind was practically hauling Kid onto the loftwing they'd called down and in a flash, they were off. It was just him and Ganondorf now, and the slowly rousing form of Twilight on the ground by his side.

His son's blue eyes were fluttering as awareness struggled to settle, but he was still so vulnerable. So defenseless. He'd fought harder than ever for Shade's sake, and already he could hear Time coming. There wasn't time left. He and Ganondorf needed to leave, and they had a path that would lead them to safety.

One Twilight could not follow.

"Buy me some time," Shade said as he turned from Ganondorf, the invisible tether between their souls now solid and locked. On the other end of it he could feel the Gerudo like an old flame, ancient and strong, but weakened after the fight with the rest of the heroes.

"A little help, darling?"

"Never in all my life," sighed Shade with a shake of his head before he focused and let his strength and power flow toward the old king. In an instant, Ganondorf's warm laugh filled the air just as an impressive barrier erected itself around them, fire barring Time's advance.

"It won't hold forever, Hero," Ganondorf warned.

"It won't have to."

Shade knelt beside Twilight and stared at the young man he'd trained, the young man who'd become a hero and who he thought of as a son. His family. His descendant.

"Father," Twilight slurred, blinking blearily as he fought for awareness. "Father, I—"

"I'm so proud," Shade said before he winced when he felt Time's attack. It was stronger than he'd anticipated and the help he'd given Ganondorf wasn't going to last as long as he'd hoped. Maybe not even the next few seconds and he _needed_ those seconds. "You're a true hero, my son, and you've fought more than I could've ever asked. I won't ask you to fight again. Go, and find what you were really here for, and go with my blessing."

Awareness had grown in Twilight's eyes and by the time Shade was done speaking, Twilight was fully aware if weak. Aware enough to know what this was. A thank you.

A goodbye.

"Father!"

Without hesitating, Shade activated the Twilight Mirror that was resting beside Twilight and with resolve shoved his descendant in. Light flickered, Twilight shouted, but just as fast as the portal had opened it closed behind him, the surface inert.

Shade lifted his fist and smashed the glass and watched the mirror crack and splinter. His heart heaved because he would never see Twilight again, but it was also relieved because now he was safe. Now his son could live the life he'd wanted. Now Twilight would have the chance at everything he'd ever dreamed of and couldn’t have.

It was the least he could do for someone he loved so dearly.

"Hero," Ganondorf grunted, his entire shrunken body trembling with the effort of maintaining the barrier. "I think it's time we left."

Shade nodded before reaching for the spirit way, tugging Ganondorf with him. The hidden path of the dead opened for them both, pulling them in, and the last thing he heard was Time's scream of frustration.

* * *

**Wild**

Wild ... he had no idea what was going on. One moment they'd defeated Ganondorf. The next Time stood with the Triforce of Power embedded in his hand, intent on slaughtering them all. The next – _literally_ the next – well … all he remembered was hearing the sound of some sort of instrument, the notes all but screaming through the air and now ....

Now he was on the Great Plateau, the sky pouring itself in heavy rain outside the Shrine of Regeneration. The others were coming, or they were supposed to be coming, but he didn't have time to think about that. Sky was dying in his arms, the Master Sword still embedded in his body. He was dying and the only thing that might save him was the pedestal.

Just as he lifted the other Link in Zelda appeared at his side, eyes wide and frightened.

"What happened?" she demanded, and he only shook his head, hands shaking.

"I don't know. I don't know," he said. "It all happened so fast, Ganondorf was defeated and Time he-then he stabbed Sky, then I wasn't where I was and Kid suddenly said—" Anxiety and panic tore through his body and he stared at Zelda's brilliant blue eyes because they were the only thing that stabilized the chaos of his world. "Princess—"

Hylia bless Princess Zelda a thousand times over because he knew the sudden hardening in her eyes and what it meant.

"You can tell me what happened later,” she said. “Right now the priority is saving him."

With her leading the way through this chaotic and confusing time of his life, his thoughts disintegrated into little more than obedience and sheer motion, but he could still feel them take form just below the surface, and he couldn't ignore them. They'd defeated Ganondorf. Time had the Triforce of Power and had tried to kill Sky. Had attempted to kill them all. The evil of Ganondorf had been removed, but the evil presence in his world was _still there_.

Had it always been there? Had the true threat to his world come from a Link from another world, and he'd all but let that man in?

Blue healing light flowed over Sky as the Shrine of Regeneration activated, and he watched numbly as Sky was bathed in healing waters. The magic of the shrine began carefully separating the Master Sword from the hero and thankfully no blood ran out as he'd dreaded it would. Instead, the wound began to glow gently, and the tight pull of Sky's face lessened slightly.

Wild's legs gave out just as the sound of feet ran in, Wind all but flying into the room dragging an exhausted Kid in behind him.

"Is he okay?" Wind demanded as he let Kid go to dash to the pedestal. Kid, without Wind's support, abruptly lost his balance and crashed against the wall. He wasn't in any better shape than the rest of them, worse in some ways given how hard he'd fought both Ganondorf and Time. It was incredible that a boy so young had so much strength and will.

Bitter shame ran through Wild. Why couldn't _he?_

"Is he going to live?" Wind pressed again when no one responded immediately, and Wild could only look to the princess because he didn’t know. He didn't think he knew _anything_ about anything anymore. The world had gone off its rails. Nothing made sense.

"Only time will tell," Princess Zelda said, her hands tight by her sides as she stared at Sky. Her face was tense and her shoulders were drawn up almost to her ears as panic flirted with the strength of her calm, and Wild wondered if he was the only one who felt everything slipping between their fingers. "This chamber has the ability to heal, but his wound is so grave." Her voice abruptly broke and she dropped her face into a hand to hide it. "If only we had a fairy. Something stronger and quicker that could help him. All I can say right now is that this shrine is all that's keeping him alive for the time being."

She took a breath and Wild took a breath at the same time, drawing on her strength to support what very little he had of his own. His hands were trembling, and he could barely pull himself back upright. He, Sky, Wind and Kid were here, but what about Shade and Twilight? What about them?

He wanted to ask. He wanted to demand answers from Hylia and the Golden Goddesses themselves, but all of his thin, fractured thoughts flew from his mind when Shade in his otherworldly, stalfos form abruptly materialized out of thin air.

Along with Ganondorf at his side.

If Wild had been on the verge of fatigue and unconsciousness, sure that he couldn't possibly find the will or energy to pick up a blade one more time, be found that in an instant he was in front of the princess, her royal knife in his hand and teeth bared. Although he was little more than the vulnerable husk he reverted to in his weakness, Ganondorf's presence still rippled across the others. Both Wind and Kid rose with swords raised and the Princess sucked in a tight breath.

The only one who didn't react was Shade.

"You can relax," the undead knight said, his voice ancient and deep, eye burning red. "He's been defeated and is harmless to all those here."

"I don't believe it," Wild spat, glowering, and if _only_ looks could kill. "I've been fooled before. This is a trick!"

"I wish I had another trick up my sleeve," Ganondorf said, and this time when he spoke it was less rich baritone and more quiet whisper. "But you can ask your princess yourself. I'm sure Nayru’s Chosen knows the truth."

Wild prepared to attack because _no_. Not here, _not now_ , but before he could do something a slim hand appeared on his shoulder and stopped him. Flabbergasted, he risked a glance over his shoulder but found Princess Zelda wasn't looking at him. She was staring at Ganondorf as if she could see something he couldn't. Wild didn't like the way her eyes widened, and his heart clenched when the look she gave him was tense and reluctant, but sure.

"He's telling the truth, Link. I can feel it. The dark malevolence which he'd once held is gone. As a matter of fact, he feels tied somehow. Bound to Shade."

"I'm a man of my word," Ganondorf replied in that eerie rasp of a voice, more dead than alive. "I made a bargain with the eldest hero and he proved to be the victor. And so, I will stand on your side now that you are in need."

"I don't believe it," Wild said again, still shaking his head because _this didn't make sense_. "I don't _believe_ it."

"Link," Zelda said, brow furrowed. "The only evil I feel in this world is not from Ganondorf. It's from the Hero of Time."

"I wish everyone would stop _calling him that_ ," Kid abruptly snapped, indignant anger and agitation written all across his young face before he faced Shade. "You're sure. Absolutely sure. This sunken bastard isn't going to fuck with us again?"

"Well," Ganondorf said.

"He’s on our side," Shade replied, cutting Ganondorf off. "The spell I used bound him to me, and this Ganondorf _is_ a man of his word. Any threat which might befall this Hyrule will not come from him. Not anymore."

"And if it does?" Wild demanded.

Shade locked his one glowing red eye on Wild. "Then I will see to him personally."

"Then he is your responsibility, ancient knight," Princess Zelda said, once again taking control of the situation, bless her from on high. "Now, would anyone care to explain to me what happened? Clearly something unexpected and concerning, but I need to know _now_."

For a moment they all stared at each other and Wild, for one, didn't know where to begin. Wind looked similarly bewildered and it was only after Kid sighed and collapsed against the wall again, muttering, "Well, why don't you tell them?" that Shade crossed his arms and began.

"The fight went as could be expected between six Heroes of Courage and Din's Chosen. Because of a deal Ganondorf and I struck, I did not participate in the battle, but by the strictest of terms, our side won. Time struck the fatal blow to Ganondorf with the Master Sword."

"Then what has happened?" she asked. "Why does it feel as if everything is worse?"

"Because," Wild said, glancing down. "He stole the Triforce of Power when he did it."

Princess Zelda staggered, and Wild felt sick. "Hylia above."

"After that, Time used the Master Sword to mortally wound Sky and was about to do the same to Twilight and the others. Thankfully, Kid and I managed to steal Time's ocarina. It's endowed with magic which can control the flow of time, and using it, we stopped time long enough to save everyone," Shade explained. "I saved Ganondorf and we all escaped."

Wild's brow furrowed in fury he couldn't contain even if the princess had conceded to the old demon's continued existence. "He should be dead."

"If he dies," Shade said as he ignored Wild and stood beside Ganondorf. "Then this world loses its Triforce of Power entirely. Time managed to take it because he bested Ganondorf directly, but as its rightful holder, Ganondorf still maintains a claim so long as he's alive. He can take it back from him."

"What does it matter if Time keeps it?" Wild threw back. "Of the monsters I'm willing to fight again, I think I'd choose Time—"

"Are you sure?" Shade asked, pinning him with an eye. "He almost killed Sky and had no qualms attempting to murder the rest of you when you were weak. He is twice as strong now with the Triforce of Power and Courage, and ask yourself. Why would someone _want_ the Triforce pieces? What might happen now that he has two pieces?"

"He'll ... he'll want the third piece." To Wild's surprise, it was Wind who'd spoken up. Wind looked up at Shade anxiously. "Now that he’s got the Triforce of Power, he'll want the Triforce of Wisdom too. With all three, he could make a wish."

Shade nodded. "He tried to kill us all as a preemptive strike should he get his hands on the full Triforce. With two pieces, he will want the third. Where do you think he'll go to find it, and what do you think he'll do to obtain it?"

Dread slid through Wild as he glanced at the Princess, and Zelda's lips pressed thin as her skin went pale.

"The chances are high that he will come here then. Or do what he can to draw me out into battle," Zelda said. "But I am powerless until the next Blood Moon. The spell which has brought all of you here is still active, and I cannot leave the plateau until the spell is either released or broken."

"Which means Time will likely come soon while the spell is still in effect and we are all weakened," Shade said. "We must prepare ourselves. I'm not sure what he's capable of, none of us are. But if he could steal the Triforce of Power, it's best not to underestimate him."

Princess Zelda looked at all of them, looked at Wild before nodding to herself. "We'll ready the forces here on the plateau. You're all too weakened from the recent battle to be able to fight him right now. Do what you can to recover while you can. We will provide as much support as we are able. If the fight for Hyrule is to happen, we will all do our part." She sighed heavily. "Let us pray this will be the final time."

Wild struggled to ignore the bile climbing up his throat and churning his stomach. Never had he thought he'd have to fight this hard for his land and the people of this land. It should only have been a single fight against Ganondorf. But after all of it, the final battle would be against one of their own. A knight of courage from another world.

One that wanted to take over his own. And who knew what else?

How could this have happened? And why was this his life?

A question bubbled out of him before he could stop it. He was too far gone to try. "If Time could betray us like this, what stops any of the rest of you from doing the same?"

Wild knew he'd said the wrong thing the moment the words left his mouth and he felt like a monster at the way Wind looked at him.

"You don't mean that, do you?" Wind asked, face pulling even if the boy forced himself to stand tall to his doubt. "Sky got stabbed. Kid and Shade saved us. Wild, you and I have traveled together for a _month_. And I really don't think Twilight would do that. I—" Abruptly Wind paused before glancing around. "Where’s Twilight?"

Wild blinked because it was the first time he'd noticed that the feral hero wasn't there among them. He'd gone for so long trying to ignore those cold, watching eyes that now that they were gone he was suddenly filled with a cold chill. Twilight was strong. His ancestor was Shade, and that spoke volumes about his potential. The way he'd fought Ganondorf had been all-in.

But he wasn't here.

Kid glowered, his eyes hard on Shade, his voice low and a fire unlike anything Wild had witnessed before burned in his gaze. "Where is he?"

Shade stared at Kid and as they looked at each other, Wild suddenly had the irrational sensation that he was looking at the same person.

To his surprise, the ancient hero looked away. "He's gone."

Kid stared. Wild stared too, but there was something in the way Kid's stare turned into a hateful glower that made him think he was missing something.

"What do you _mean_ he's gone?" the boy demanded, somehow finding a way to bully his beaten body upright. Every muscle shook violently but Kid's will seemed as strong as Shade's. "Where _is_ he?"

"The only way to protect him was to send him away," Shade finally said. "He's safe, but he will not return. I made sure of it."

The stare-down went on and although nothing happened, Wind edged closer to him and Zelda. Anything might happen, and given Kid's volatile nature and Shade's enigmatic actions, Wild would be a liar to say he didn't expect the worst.

To his surprise Kid's gaze dropped to the ground and his shoulders slumped. It seemed like his spirit fell out of him. His tone was empty when he spoke.

"You're sure."

"I'm sure," Shade agreed quietly before he looked once again at Wild. "Since I've arrived, I've felt an insidious presence, one which did not feel like Ganondorf. I did not know what it was, nor did I understand. But if you'll trust me again, know that none of us here bear that evil. It was only ever Time."

"Not that you'd trust me," Ganondorf added as he crossed skeletal, dry, sunken arms. "But it's true. I've felt it as well since you all arrived. I merely had not expected one of Farore's Chosen to be so bold."

Wild made a face because he _didn't_ trust this monster. Didn't _want_ to trust him.

But all the others had proven themselves, and Time had shown his colors. He regretted having questioned their loyalty. They’d proved time and again that they, at least, were on his and the Princess’s side.

"I'm sorry," he finally said softly.

"It's okay. I think we all get it," Wind said, the boy giving him a small, tired smile. "We're all beaten up and stressed, and now we're down two Links, up a Ganondorf, and having to fight another Link. It's a lot."

"I need some air," Kid suddenly said before turning away. "I won't go far, just ... just leave me alone for a while."

"But your wounds," the Princess said, but Kid ignored her and left the shrine to vanish in the rain.

"He'll be fine," Shade said quietly as he stared after the boy. "He just needs some time."

"I'm just not sure we'll have it," Princess Zelda said before glancing at Wild and Wind, then for longer at the prone and unconscious Sky, and Wild tried not to let his heart and courage betray him when he needed them most of all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next post on Thursday!


	20. Regroup

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! I hope you're enjoying the ride so far and that you're excited for what's about to come next. But before we get into the final battle sequence, how about we take a much-needed breather chapter? 
> 
> I hope you enjoy!
> 
> (PS: Majora's Mask is my favorite game so I really couldn't resist with this chapter's layout lol)

_Dawn of The First Day_

* * *

**Wind**

Wind stared at the pond in front of him before he placed his head on his knees and couldn’t stop himself from thinking about home. He'd been trying not to think about his grandmother or sister or the Great Sea, and he’d tried _really hard_ not to think about Tetra too, but he'd never been very good at not doing the things he shouldn't be doing. Soon enough all the memories he had of them swept into his mind. Wind gripped his pants tight and struggled not to shake.

He wanted to go home, and he was afraid more than ever that this time he might not be able to. They'd helped defeat this world's Ganondorf, but now they had to fight one of _them?_ A Link? One with two Triforce pieces who'd also nearly killed one of them? One who wanted to conquer this world? Maybe even _all_ worlds?

Dull pain throbbed through his body even now. They were still recovering from the previous day's battle, and although he'd been to the medics and healers and they'd patched him up as best they could, he still felt battered and swollen. He'd fought his world's Ganondorf and then this world's Ganondorf in the best conditions he'd been able to make. Fully prepared. Completely ready.

If he had to fight Time now, he wasn't sure how long he'd last, hero or not.

Staring dully at the shifting water, breathing in its fresh scent and not the salty tang of his Great Sea, he sighed. Depression and anxiety warred in his chest and if only he'd been home he'd have found somewhere on Outset Island to hide and sleep the day away. Or take a boat and sail the seas. Take Tetra up on her offer and find out what trouble they could get into as he helped her search for land – true land.

His eyes watered because such an adventure, one made with his best friend in the whole world atop the comforts of the shifting sea, sounded like the best idea to him. No world to save, no people to save – unless they wanted to – just the sea and a dream. Each other and a crew and the wind upon his skin.

He wanted that now, he realized. He didn't know why he’d struggled with it a month ago, but now he realized that traveling with Tetra _was_ all he wanted. He'd just been afraid of change and what it might bring. That he would _have_ to be that island boy who did nothing when he didn't _have_ to be a hero again.

The choice had been there for him if he'd only been brave enough, he realized. Being completely honest, he loved travel. He loved this.

But the choice had scared him then. Now, though, when so much was out of his hands, when he was entirely out of control, the choice was all he wanted. A chance to take his destiny into his own hands, for once.

Wind wanted to go _home_.

"I thought I might find you here."

For a moment Wind startled before relaxing a little when he saw it was only Shade. Since coming back to the Great Plateau, he'd looked not like the old Hylian warrior they’d first met but like something out of a ghost story, see-through, bones, glowing red eye. Dead. Undead.

It relaxed Wind, and he straightened as much as he could. "You were looking for me?"

"Yes. Do you mind?"

It was a thoughtful question. Everyone else who'd seen Shade had reacted with enough terror that they'd all thought it best if he and Ganondorf stayed out of sight while the titans did what they could to strengthen the princess's barrier around the plateau.

Still, Wind couldn't stop himself from searching the shadows for the emaciated corpse that never seemed far from Shade.

"He's not here," Shade said. "Probably terrorizing Kid."

Wind relaxed and nodded before gesturing to the space next to him, and he was grateful the old knight moved toward him instead of the other way around. Wind wanted to conserve as much strength as he could before the coming battle, whenever it would be.

"So Wild's off then?"

"He should be back soon," Shade replied as he settled next to Wind. "He'll ask a favor from the Great Fairies. Hopefully with their help Sky will be healed—"

"Do you think we can do it?"

Shade fell silent and Wind clenched his pants again because that wasn't what he'd meant to say. But when he'd opened his mouth, the question had just ... slipped out. He'd been thinking it for a while now. He couldn't take it back though, and now that it was out he found he didn't want to because this was Shade. He was the ancient hero. Given, well, _everything_ , if anyone had an idea of how this might go, it _had_ to be him.

"You've always impressed me, Wind," Shade finally said, surprising him, and Wind's back straightened so rapidly his muscles screamed but he didn't care. "Of all of us, you are the purest, and in some ways, the strongest. You're not afraid of me, are you?"

He was so taken aback by this sudden change of topic that he responded honestly. "No, I'm not. I don't think I've ever been afraid of you, even when we found out you were actually like this. On my world there are spirits like you. I mean, they are tied to places or ships, and stuff like that, but most of the spirits and ghosts I met have been kind to me." Wind shrugged. "I think that's all anyone wants, really. It's not your fault that you're like this, is it? So why does it matter?"

Impossibly Shade smiled, his ghoulish face terrible and yet kind all the same.

"You're a breath of fresh air to the rest of us. We're all so ... bitter and dark, and tired. But you’re a good kid, doing the right thing. The world hasn't beaten you down yet." Shade's bright red eye glowed. "And I'm not going to let it if I can help it."

"I just want to go home," Wind admitted. "But even if I went home right now, Time might conquer this world. I don't think I could live with myself if I knew I could've done something and didn't. So I'm not sure that you can, Shade." Wind gave him a small smile. "But thank you anyway. I mean, I never dreamed this would happen, but in some ways it's helped me grow up and realize a lot of things. It wasn't that long ago that I defeated my own Ganondorf, you know? Only a few weeks before here. Then my best friend asked me to go on another adventure with her."

Wind shrugged, thinking about Tetra.

"I didn't know if I wanted to. I was on my family’s roof all packed up and ready to go, and I just didn't know if I _wanted_ to go, because my family was safe again, and no one was in danger. I could just be a kid again. Like I was." Wind fell silent. "But I'm not that kid anymore. I'm never going to be satisfied with the peaceful, lazy island life, not for a long time. I want to be out, exploring the seas, having fun, _doing things_ now. This life, it's a part of me, and I don't think I'd have realized that if I hadn't come here. But I just want to go back home again so I _can_ be that. That's all I want. That's what I'll be fighting for when we have to face Time."

"You are so much wiser than I was when I was your age," Shade said, and Wind couldn't believe it because Shade was obviously the strongest, wisest Link he knew. "If I'd had even a fraction of your wisdom, I might have ... well, I don't know. It's true that our experiences shape us. I only want to make sure these experiences don't break you."

Wind didn't know why it happened, but the honest sincerity in Shade's voice was suddenly too much for him, and the calm eye of the violent storm that had become his life and his emotions abruptly broke. Tears ran out of his eyes and great, gulping sobs started ripping out of him and now, like this, with someone seeing how hard this was for him – he was only _ten_ , he was still just a _kid_ , how was this his _life_ – and legitimately _cared_. Cared enough to see what he was most afraid of. That he'd either die, or he'd survive and leave less himself than he'd been when he'd arrived.

A large hand settled on his back, and he didn't think as he threw his arms around Shade. Part of him expected to fall through spirit flesh into hard bone, but the transparent flesh of Shade's body, while strange, was also solid and surprisingly warm. It was reassuring and this old hero let Wind hold him and cry out all the tears he'd been keeping in for days and days and days, and then let him sleep there too.

And he slept well, safe and protected. And while it wasn’t perfect, it was what he needed if he wanted to make it through the upcoming fight.

* * *

_Dawn of The Second Day_

* * *

**Sky**

Sky was in a dream, and in that dream, Time – the brother he'd found – had stabbed him through with the Master Sword.

So, maybe it was better to say it was a nightmare. And maybe, worse than that, it wasn't a nightmare at all, but a memory. And the last thing he remembered of that memory, was brilliant, horrible pain. Pain unlike anything he'd ever felt. An invasion of his body that could kill him – would kill him.

He'd never see Zelda again. He'd never see their child. There would only be pain, then the numbness of unconsciousness in the wake of unexpected betrayal, before nothing at all. This would be it. That was the end of his life. Alone in a foreign world, the Master Sword – _Fi_ – his end.

It struck him that what he wanted now most of all was just to speak with Fi again.

Sky didn't know how long it took for him to have that thought – he might have drifted with it for ages, or a second, or all of his life, he didn't know anymore – but suddenly he was standing in darkness highlighted by a dim but electric blue light.

Fi was standing before him, calm and patient and there as she'd always been as they'd fought to save his Hyrule and defeat Demise.

"Fi," he choked, tears burning his eyes before he swallowed hard. "Am I dead?"

"No. Not yet," she said. "Thanks to the swift actions of your companions, you are currently in a healing coma within the Shrine of Resurrection. It was the only way to save your life."

He took a slow, steadying breath. He'd have thought after traveling through time and to different worlds that this would all make some sense, but it didn't. It never did. Sky had always been intelligent and smart, but at heart, he was a simple man and content with that. He loved action and the world and working with his hands, and he'd been fine with the fact that there were others smarter than him.

Right now, however, he wished he was smart enough to see it all. To see everything and understand.

But he didn't. Sky sighed.

"If I'm unconscious, where are we then? And how come you're here?"

"We were both placed in the Shrine of Resurrection’s pedestal, even if I remain in my blade form. Until you are properly healed, we share this space. You called me and I was able to come as a thought-form in your unconsciousness."

"But it _is_ you," he said, desperate. "I'm not just dreaming this?"

"You are dreaming this, in a sense," Fi clarified. "But that does not mean I am not here."

Sky didn't understand, but dream or hallucination or whatever this was, at the moment it didn't matter. Fi was here. He'd missed her in the years since they'd defeated Demise, and how many times had he imagined having the chance to speak with her just one more time?

"I've missed you," he blurted out, staring at her strange form. "The world, my world – the one we saved – it's beautiful and thriving. Hyrule is growing because of us. Zelda and I got married. We have a child on the way."

The usually stoic Master Sword spirit surprised him with a small, gentle smile. "I know. I heard, and here I can see your memories." Fi lifted one of her otherworldly arms and the darkness and blue light around them changed. Sounds manifested in the air, warped slightly as if they were underwater, and he could see things the same way he might through water. Zelda's face appeared, smiling and bright. Their home was there too. All of Hyrule. Skyloft. Friends and family, and everything good they'd worked so hard to protect.

Her arm dropped and the images faded to leave them together again. "You seem happy," she finally said before she frowned. "I sense you're bothered as well."

With anyone else, Sky would've denied it. He legitimately _was_ happy about his life. About Zelda, and Hyrule, and the baby. But since arriving here, he'd changed. All his life he'd been kind and smiling, gentle and caring in the times he didn’t need to be a knight. That was the man he was. That was the man Zelda had married and the father he wanted to be for his child. But here, backed into a corner with no way to come home, he'd become someone else. Desperate in a way he hadn't been when he'd struggled to save the love of his life.

Since coming to this world, he'd been angry and suspicious. Rude and perhaps even cruel, and that just wasn't him. And yet he was acting this way. What if he and Zelda fought in the future? Would he be as righteous and cold as he'd been with Twilight? Would he be as hard as Shade? And what about their child?

He was capable of such good, but he was horrified that even after a month here, his mood could also still be so dark.

"I've not been myself since I arrived here, Fi," Sky admitted. "I'm worried it's who I will be if and when I return home."

She studied him in that way that was always strange and he’d missed over the years, like she could see into the heart of him and know the truth.

"You're frightened of yourself," she amended, moving forward. "Your behavior is different than it usually is. It scares you."

"It makes me uncomfortable, yes," Sky said, a little ashamed, but it was hard to feel too bad when he was speaking to Fi about it. Her steady logic always leveled him out, and he was grateful that there seemed to be no judgment either. "What if this has changed me, and I'm not the man Zelda knows or the father I want to be to our child? What if all of this ... what if I don't come back from it?"

"I can't say anything about surviving the situation you and your companions now face. It is dire," she said, straightforward as always. "But you should not be afraid of yourself. You've always had the ability to feel this way, as does everyone. Before this, the stress of your situation was great, but you had more control over what happened, and arguably less to lose. But you're older now and the world has become more complicated for you. Your home is safe. You have a family you love dearly. And you have been transported to a world that is not your own and asked to fight for it as the only way to return to your own."

She tilted her head slightly. "Who wouldn't be angry about such circumstances?"

"But I've never _been_ like this, Fi," he argued.

"You're also more mature now, and while a hero you may be, you are also no saint. That was never a requirement to wield the Master Sword." She glanced away. "It's why the Fallen Hero of Time could wield me and use me against even one as cherished as you."

Sky frowned, his heart aching that Fi of all people could be bothered. But he supposed she wasn't wrong, even if the conclusion was uncomfortable and disconcerting.

"Are we all capable of such darkness?" he asked. "I'd never thought of it before. Everyone seems so heroic and sure. Good and courageous. Could we all turn out as Time has?" Sky had to grit his teeth together after saying Time's name. He'd been his greatest friend here, the companion he chose above the others, a _brother_ , and he hadn't hesitated to drive the Master Sword through him.

But why?

Fi was about to answer but then he shook his head, cutting her off.

"Wait, Fi, you were aware of what happened. You even know who Time is, right?"

"Yes," she replied. "I know who all of you are. I am the Master Sword. I am always the weapon of the Hero of Courage. You've all wielded me across time and space. I know you all."

"Then do you know why Time tried to kill me?" he asked. "It doesn't make sense. He was kind and reassuring, I truly believed he wanted to send me home."

"He did," Fi replied. "But only because he thought you had not had children yet."

Sky blinked, bewildered. "What does that have to do with any of it?"

"It has everything to do with it," Fi replied. "Of all the Heroes of Courage present, you are the eldest in the lineage. Not oldest in age, but your presence in time is the farthest. It is why your fight with evil was with Demise, and not Ganondorf. Ganondorf did not yet exist as the harbinger of power and darkness. Demise was Ganondorf's progenitor. Time realized this."

"I still don't understand why that matters," Sky said, his head aching because, frankly, not much of this conversation made sense to him.

"Because," Fi explained patiently. "If you ceased to exist without having perpetuated the line of the hero, then the rest of the Heroes of Courage gathered, including Time, would not exist. Time believed that you had no children and no chance to carry on the line, and so he was willing to send you home. It would keep him safe and alive since he is a part of that lineage as well. But upon hearing that you are having a child, the line is secured. I suspect he believed you were of no use to him alive, and no longer a metaphysical threat."

"But why kill me then?" he asked. "I still don't understand."

"Don't you?" Fi asked. "If you could be summoned once from your time and position in space, what would stop you from being summoned again to fight him? Once more, I suspect he attacked you as he intended to attack the others because he wanted to destroy threats before they became threats, to ensure his power and strength remained uncombatted."

"He sounds like the Ganondorf’s the others have all fought," Sky said, chilled. "It's hard to believe that one of us could be like that."

"Any of you could turn out that way. Any Ganondorf, Link, or Zelda. Ganondorf is merely the most likely candidate."

"But why?" Sky said, bewildered once again. "It has to be more than that. He has to be evil—"

"Because then it would make Time's actions redeemable?" Fi asked curiously. "His predisposition to Power does make him quite vulnerable to Demise, that is true, but none of the Goddesses Selects ever start out evil. It's not the way it is. All three of you, as everyone in existence, are affected by choices and decisions you and others make. Can one be evil if their environment was cold and ruthless and ideal for pain and suffering? And can it be said that one is truly good merely because they were never challenged to do wrong, and overcome it?"

"We're delving into philosophy now," Sky said pressing his palms into his brow. "That just makes everything more complicated."

"Because it is complicated," Fi said, tilting her head again. "It's never been as black and white as you and the priestess being good and Ganondorf being evil. Demise would inhabit the most susceptible of you no matter what, given half a chance. It merely appears different for each, and you and the Princess are less likely to be its vessel as the cycles renew."

"Then why are we doing this at all?" he asked. "If this could happen to any of us, why is it happening in the first place?"

"Because Demise must be sealed, again and again," Fi explained. "And it's easiest to find him if he has a form."

Sky fell silent and thought about that. Thought about how that _monster_ Demise kept appearing again and again, terrorizing a princess, a knight, and a desert king.

"There has to be a way to stop him," Sky said. "Some way to free us from this endless cycle."

Fi frowned but didn't comment and the space between them filled with a quiet that seemed timeless. Eventually Sky sighed.

"Do you think it will ever end?" Sky asked. "That we'll finally defeat Demise?"

"Demise is the manifestation of hate,” Fi finally said, tone reasonable, but quiet. “And one can never truly destroy hate. It is an emotion that simply exists, like love. It is why he resurrects as you and the others do."

"Did we do this?" he asked suddenly. He was the oldest in the line. He fought Demise and destroyed his physical form. "When we defeated Demise, did we do this?"

"There is no real answer to that question," Fi said. "It is true that we freed Demise from his form so he is able to reincarnate, but his actions are not our fault or responsibility."

"But then it's not Time's either. And it's not Ganondorf's."

"Not before Demise takes root, that's true," Fi said. "But as with all of you, you are given a choice and it is the one which defines you. Will you be the hero and protect Hyrule? Will you turn from your duties and abandon it? Will you rule Hyrule? It has always been a possibility for all of you, but once your decision is made, the actions and decisions you make are your own."

"But one of us always becomes the vessel of Demise. So, no matter what, we will always be fighting each other." Sky frowned. "It seems cruel."

"The whims of destiny are always cruel," Fi agreed. "But that is the price of peace."

He didn't know what to say to that because would he not fight again and again on behalf of Zelda and his Hyrule. He was even doing it for a Hyrule that wasn't his because peace was _worth_ it. But when did it stop? And what would happen if it never stopped?

The world around them began to change, and the darkness around them lessened as the blue that bore them turned pink. A deep weight he only noticed now that was holding him down seemed to slowly lift, and he was feeling better by the moment. Stronger and more energized.

"It looks like you're going to be fine, Link," Fi said as she faced him again. "I'm happy I got to speak with you again after so long. I've always missed you more than all the others." She moved forward until they were standing close. "I pray that you and your kind defeat the Fallen Hero of Time. I pray you return home once more and you spend your life in happiness and peace with your family."

Sky's throat tightened as he realized what this was. "Fi."

"Goodbye," she said, smiling at him. "And may Hylia watch over you."

Sky reached out because that was all he could think to do, but moving broke the strange world they were in as it filled with pure white light. He called out for Fi, but he couldn't hear his own voice. Everything had gone white.

Eventually the light lessened and when it did he felt his body more acutely than he had before. For a moment, one bright, terrifying moment, he remembered the searing pain that had dominated his existence as the Master Sword pierced him. But just as fast as it was there, it was gone, replaced instead by calm, soothing warmth. His torso felt bathed in it and soon every nerve of his body was just as soothed. He was in a bath now, warm and calm, and the dim darkness around him soothed his mind.

Slowly that warmth faded and the weight of gravity pulled him down until he realized that he was wet and laying on something semi-soft. Sky shivered, and as he did the sound of metal scratching stone caught his attention. He glanced down and beside him the Master Sword lay like a protector at his side. He blinked and he saw the face of a golden-haired princess and Wild and Wind's relieved features.

"It worked," Wild said, relieved. "Cotera's fairies worked."

"You're all right now," Wind added. "What do you remember, Sky?"

But Sky wasn't looking at them. Slowly he pushed himself upward before pulling the Master Sword into his lap.

And then be smiled and wept because he was alive. He'd seen his old friend one more time and now had one more chance to fight to return home thanks to the kindness and care of his fellow knights.

* * *

_Dawn of the Third Day_

* * *

**Ganondorf**

On a whole, Ganondorf did not like being a living corpse again. Brief as it was, the past few months spent rehydrated and properly embodied had been unbridled relief. Granted, he'd done little more than terrorize the resistance and watch the heroes as they'd scrambled to rally against him, but still. He'd enjoyed the simple pleasures of food and drink, of the wind and sun on his skin, of a strong body, and sex and companionship with the old hero. Now, as little more than a persistent bag of bones, he had little to none of that.

But becoming a proper corpse again wasn't without its little pleasures.

"Are you fucking kidding me!"

His emaciated body thudded, and Ganondorf glanced at the trio of arrows now embedded in his chest. He gave a raspy chuckle before yanking them out.

"Your older self is much nicer in his age," he told the boy.

"You're not one to talk," Kid snapped back. "Any other Ganondorf would be chomping at the bit, but look at you, tame and trailing behind Shade like a good dog."

Perhaps the boy had a point about him being nicer because a younger him would have killed the young hero in an instant for such a comment. But Ganondorf was ten thousand years old and tired, and he saw this for what it truly was.

"Hardly tame, young hero. But as your future self said, I am a man of my word. He won the bet."

Kid snarled. "And what was the bet?"

Ganondorf hummed and glanced toward the horizon where the dawn was rising on their third day of recovery and tentative peace. For these three days, the usurper had not made a move. Everything was still in Hyrule Castle. If he'd been stronger with the power of his Triforce, he'd have known exactly where the knight was and maybe even what he was doing.

But he was weakened now, sharing Shade's strength. Anything could be happening over there, and he'd never know.

Ganondorf intended to right the wrong as soon as possible. The Triforce of Power was his, after all, and no one liked a thief.

His silence, as he expected, won out, and the boy huffed dramatically before slumping back in his place, giving up. Admittedly, Ganondorf was impressed by how long Kid had struggled persistently to avoid him and the creative locations he'd sought and hoped to remain unfound. But Ganondorf had a profound connection with this particular hero now. He could sense where not only Shade was at all times, but also Kid as well. It was like feeling radiance. The older hero was more comfortable by all means, but radiated a coolness of death that was unmistakable.

This boy, on the other hand, was all fire and life. Unmistakable and easy to track. And with little else to do except terrorize hapless Hylians and the fellow races by merely existing, he'd sought the company of the only one he _did_ like. Only the old hero was busy helping the princess and her champion prepare for the battle, and Ganondorf was not quite ready to join the war meeting.

So he followed the boy from location to location to location, watching as Kid grew more agitated by the moment as he was found and his peace thwarted again. At last they were here now, in the ruined rafters of the Temple of Time watching the sun rise over a Hyrule holding its breath and waiting to see what would become of it.

"Why are you following me?" Kid finally asked, and Ganondorf smiled, the dried skin of his corpse-like flesh pulling.

"Even you must admit there's little in the way of entertainment, young hero."

"Fuck you," the boy grunted.

"Only when you're older," he replied, enjoying the way the boy looked affronted and horrified. But to Ganondorf's surprise he didn't bolt. Instead his features settled onto a glower, and Ganondorf suspected he thought it had been a jest.

"I don't trust you," Kid said instead.

"But you trust him. Shade," Ganondorf said, knowing he was right. "I wonder. What must it be like to see your older self like you do?"

"Perfect," Kid grunted before glancing away. "I can't _wait_ to become him."

"A great leader? A formidable warrior?" Ganondorf arched a brow, even though it creaked. "Dead?"

"Not that death seems to matter," Kid said. "It doesn't take. I'm going to be like that for Farore knows how long, I'm going to survive everything, lose everything, and I'm going to do it alone."

Ganondorf lifted his chin. Ah.

"You're afraid of your future. That you will endure it alone." Before the boy could say anything, the Gerudo looked out across the glowing lands of Hyrule. "I will admit. It's not easy."

He'd surprised the boy again, that much was obvious from the calculating silence. A younger Ganondorf would've gone further, but his time in solitude had made him patient, even if he'd never desired to be. He waited and was rewarded.

"What happened?"

"The same, I suspect, happened to you. Will happen to you," Ganondorf replied. "I died, but as you said, it did not take. Only I remained a corpse below Hyrule for ten thousand years, forgotten save for my primal manifestation as Calamity Ganon. There was little in that darkness save silence and time. Time enough to think. Time enough to go insane."

"Are you insane?" Kid asked, eyeing him warily. Ganondorf smiled.

"I would have to be to have made a deal with you. Or mad enough not to care anymore. Truthfully, young hero, I did not care about conquering this world – at least not after that first day. I do not care about Hyrule or its people, or even the Triforce. All they’ve brought me is endless torment and a long, forgotten imprisonment."

"Don't you want revenge for that?" Kid asked.

"For a time, I did," Ganondorf replied before shrugging. "But it seems old-age changed my perspective. When I was revived, revenge felt like toying with children and I found I simply was not entertained."

Kid frowned then eyed Hyrule Castle. "Are you entertained now?"

Ganondorf laughed, startling the boy, but he really couldn't help it. "Of course, child! The game has changed. I have an equal here in your older self. One of _you_ is the enemy for once, and I have been convinced to switch sides. The usual dance we play together has altered radically and even I cannot foresee what will happen next. The future is now unpredictable, and I am eager to see what becomes of it."

The young hero eyed him, and like that Ganondorf could see Shade there. It was little more than a glimmer, but that glimmer would grow.

"You don't really care what happens, do you?"

"Untrue, hero," Ganondorf corrected. "I've had my power stolen from me, and I want it back. Just because I'm a withered corpse does not mean I'm without my pride. The usurper will pay for what he's done and what he's attempting to do. I've every intention of helping to end him."

"You're just bitter you hadn't thought of it yourself."

Ganondorf stared at the boy, then smirked. Seemed even this young, he could somehow see some truths of him. "Perhaps. But it hardly matters now. My deal has been made, and I will honor it."

"Doesn't seem like you're honoring it now," Kid said. "You're just tormenting me."

"There was nothing in the deal that said I wouldn't." Ganondorf couldn't help himself. "As a matter of fact, the deal was all about you. Him. If we all survive, I'm sure you'll understand in time."

"Goddesses above, I hate you."

Ganondorf could only smirk wider. Then he said, "You miss the son you'll have in the future."

Kid jolted like Ganondorf had shocked him before a flash of rage slapped across his young features.

"I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Lies," Ganondorf pressed. "Did you forget that it was I you fought first before the false hero defeated me? Truly, I was unsure who would fight me hardest. Not Wild because his spirit was long broken, and the young Wind does not have the right motivations to fight with everything he has. On his own world, perhaps, but not here. I'd considered it might be Time, but more likely Twilight since Shade's future was on the line." Ganondorf slowly crouched before the boy, balanced on the balls of his feet. "But it was you. You fought the hardest."

Kid scowled. "It was the right thing to do—"

"You actively hated your older self. This world means little to you other than a stepping stone to your next adventure, or whatever it is you're really after," Ganondorf continued. "You don't care about me either, or the terror I could release upon this world. And yet, despite all that, you fought me harder than the others did. You fought Time harder than everyone else. And both times, young hero, Twilight was in danger."

"I was just looking out for him. He’s a friend, that’s all," Kid snapped but Ganondorf shook his head.

"Don't lie," he said, his tone calm and almost careless if not for the steel lining the heart of his words. "Fate has a way of making real our words. With destiny’s claws dug so deep in your soul, don't say something you don’t mean."

The boy glowered, there was fire in his eyes and he opened his mouth to argue, but a second passed, then several, and all that sounded between them was the morning birds singing their arias. Slowly Kid closed his mouth, and although there was bitter anger in his eyes, he merely glanced down.

"What does it matter?" Kid finally said. "I won't see him again, not for a long time. Shade sent him away. It's probably for the best." The boy shrugged. "Twilight doesn't even know. It _doesn’t_ matter."

If someone had asked him a month earlier if he thought he would ever offer counsel to a Hero of Courage, he'd have laughed in their face before he killed them. And yet here he was. Kid eyed him.

"Why do you care?" he suddenly asked. "You were trying to kill us. Why are you bringing this up?"

"Because," Ganondorf said, more serious. "The game has changed and we don’t know what will happen. If Time wins, it's entirely possible what comes next will be worse than anything I have ever done. He needs to be defeated and you are among the strongest here, but only if your heart is in it." His eyes bored into Kids. "Is your heart in it?"

That appeared to be a step too far over an invisible line for Kid because suddenly he was on his feet, snarling like a young wolf.

"Of course it's in it!" he snapped furiously before dashing away. "And stop following me, you dried-up corpse!"

"It's not nice to call names," Ganondorf called back, but this time he didn’t follow. It wouldn't matter how far he ran off anyway, not when he could always find him, but he felt as if he'd done what he'd set out to do. So instead he settled himself upon the rafters and let the sun beat upon his dry flesh. He could barely feel it, but he _could,_ just a little.

He was unsurprised when the shadows parted and Shade stepped out, taking the place his younger self had just been.

"You bond quickly, hero," Ganondorf said. "How you made it through the ages with your heart still intact is beyond me."

"Who's to say," Shade muttered. "In truth, I don't remember much of this. I didn't remember any of it until I arrived here. But I knew my son when I saw him in our world. Perhaps he is why I waited so long."

Ganondorf sighed before leaning back, skeletal legs hanging off the edge in the air and arms behind his head as he stared up at the sky.

"Foolish," Ganondorf declared. "Sentimental." He paused, then glanced at the old hero as unnatural as he was, a couple of undead titans overstaying their welcome. "Do you remember what happens next?"

Shade sighed before he sat beside him, staring toward the castle. "If only it were that simple."

"That's a shame," Ganondorf said, though he supposed he wasn't too bothered. He wanted a fight he couldn't foresee, and this was everything he could've ever dreamed of. This was new. This was change. He wanted to find out what would happen next. He wanted the fight to begin soon. Right now it was just another waiting game. "If only there was some way to pass the time."

Shade huffed a laugh. "Are you brave enough, you withered corpse? You said yourself that you might risk breaking it off."

"Merely stating I wished for a better, if more pleasurable, way to pass the time," Ganondorf replied, unfazed. "I can barely feel anything as it is. Not with the state my body is in." He glanced up at the hero. "I could settle with companionship, I suppose."

Shade gave a small nod, though he sighed at the end. "For a short while, old king. The quiet before the storm won't last, and this world and your hero and princess need you."

Ganondorf hummed before closing his eyes and basking in the chilled radiance of the soul beside him. The companion he'd waited ten thousand years for.

"They can wait," he said. "Now quiet, old hero, or I will curse you."

"What's one more curse?" Shade said, but he did fall silent, and Ganondorf wondered if the old hero was as grateful for the moment of companionable solitude as he was.

Because if his instincts were right, no matter how the impending battle might turn out, it might be the last they had.

* * *

_The Beginning of the End_

* * *

**Time**

The King of Hyrule and Master of Time, owner of the Triforce of Courage and Triforce of Power, soon to be owner of the Triforce of Wisdom and the Triforce itself, stared at his gathered forces, his army, and smiled. It had taken him three days to prepare and this was where he was, more powerful than ever.

Yes, he was displeased that the others now had his Ocarina of Time, unsealed but out of his reach. Yes, he had several enemies he _needed_ to destroy if he intended to carry out his plan. Which he did. But he was confident now. He had momentum. He had strength. And the three days he'd had to prepare had also given him ample time to consider his enemies. Piece them together and understand how it was even possible that they'd managed to use the Ocarina of Time in the first place.

And Time believed he understood now. It was so obvious in retrospect. If Sky could come here almost from the beginning and both Shade and Twilight could exist together despite the time that separated them, why not the greatest paradox of all? It made sense. It all made sense.

That was how he knew he was going to win because he understood now, understood the situation in its entirety. All that was left was to put his plan into motion, and win.

He would fight the heroes, tear them apart and then take the Triforce of Wisdom for himself. He'd make his wish then, and it would be a good wish. A kind wish, one he would make for all of time and the worlds that existed.

Time would bring peace.

And no one would ever stand in his way again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next post on Monday! Hope you're excited~


	21. War

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I hope you're excited because we're starting to ramp up again.
> 
> Enjoy!

**Zelda**

Never in her life had she dreamed a day like this would come to pass. How could she have imagined such a thing? It was an impossibility that no one had considered. Not her father. Not Impa. Not the ancients of old. None of this should've been conceivable even within the mind of the Goddess Hylia herself.

And yet, despite that, despite _everything_ , she stood around her war table accompanied by the designated leaders of the peoples of Hyrule, five Heroes of Courage to fight one who had fallen to darkness ....

And Ganondorf.

While she'd given her word and meant it when she'd accepted Shade's explanation of what had happened and that – against all odds – the Calamity of the kingdoms was now on their side, fighting for them and the freedom of Hyrule, even a glance at that shock of burning red hair was enough to make her stomach twist with panic. This was the creature she'd sworn to protect her kingdom from. The monster of her worst nightmares and the boogeyman of her failures.

Some things were not so easily overcome as they were said with mere words.

Still, with everyone gathered and more than one set of eyes sidling toward the living corpse of their former enemy, it was up to her to set the example. She needed to be the leader they needed, even if she wanted nothing more than to banish him.

Unfortunately they needed him. Hyrule, despite everything, needed Ganondorf. _She and Link_ needed him.

And for whatever future might be waiting for them if they could survive this, she _would_ make peace with the horror. It helped that Shade was never far and appeared to have some sort of control or leverage over him, but every time Ganondorf moved ....

As if aware that she was thinking about him, Ganondorf's glowing red eyes flicked toward hers, knowing. Eerie. It was only years of calm control learned from her father, her pursuit of the Power of the Goddess, and one hundred years holding Calamity Ganon back that her spark of fear did not reflect in her body. Him looking at her was nothing compared to what they now faced.

That bothered her most of all.

"We're in luck. He is but one man, and weakened as we are, we still hold numbers," she said, leading the meeting. "While it is true that he possesses two pieces of the Triforce, we have power of our own and we must use it for the sake of our Hyrule." She lifted her chin and pressed her lips together. "Likely, we stand here to fight not only for our Hyrule, but for many more besides. It is our belief that he now seeks to take the Triforce of Wisdom, and with all three be granted the blessing of a wish. We believe he will use that power to enslave all worlds."

"I still can't believe this is happening," Yunobo sighed, rubbing his hands together nervously. "Other worlds? Other times? It was bad enough when it was just Calamity Ganon." His eyes, whether he knew it or not, darted Ganondorf's way, as did Prince Sidon, Teba's, and Chief Riju's. It was by some miracle her own Champion hadn't so much as twitched, but then he was beside her and she could not see his face.

"It is happening. The evidence is here in the heroes around you. You've all met and traveled with them. You know their stories. This is real." The tone of her voice was filled with finality. "And much is on the line."

"How do we know he's going to attack, let alone soon?" Riju asked calmly. "If he is only one man against a world willing to do whatever it takes to stop him, would he not wait?”

"He has no choice," Zelda replied. "The spell which binds him and the rest of the gathered Heroes of Courage breaks at the summit of the Blood Moon. Ganondorf was defeated and, by the rules of that spell, they will all be returned to their world at that time. But right now he has two pieces of the Triforce. We know he wants the third, and since he did not already have it and had traveled here purely to obtain them, we must assume that in his world, his Zelda and Ganondorf are standing strong against him. We are weak here. I am limited and weak, and thus an attractive target.” Her lips pressed thin. “ _He will come_."

"Then what do we do?" Prince Sidon asked. "The Blood Moon rises tomorrow night."

"Fight him off," Shade replied calmly. "Stand our ground until the Blood Moon rises."

"Or kill him," Ganondorf added from beside the ghoulish titan. "Either would serve our purposes, though killing him ensures he never tries again."

"Ganondorf raises a good point," Zelda said, frowning. "If all he needs to make his wish is any Triforce of Wisdom, no doubt he will not stop until he has obtained it. And if he does, he can still make his wish and we will be affected. It's possible that somehow, we must find a way to permanently subdue him. Or in the most extreme of cases, execute him."

"How powerful is he?" Teba asked, feathered arms crossed. "We should know what we're going up against."

"The courage of a hero. The power of a king," Kid said, surprising her. "He's going to have tricks and potions. Abilities that maybe none of us know. But Shade and I did manage to take both the Master Sword and his Ocarina of Time from him. Those might be the most powerful items he had, but we can't know for sure."

"He is only one man," she repeated. "Powerful yes, but only one. We _can_ defeat him. We must."

"That's without debate," Riju said before she frowned, the gold and makeup of her people making her appear much older than her years. Her eyes hardened before she looked at the gathered heroes and sighed. "There is also no debate that each of these champions have shown selfless bravery without measure. But they've done the task they were summoned for. They defeated Ganondorf. If they will all leave by spell at the Blood Moon, what incentive do they have to stay and fight one more time? We have no idea if this fallen Link will be able to do as he hopes. Conquering worlds may never come to pass."

"It's not a risk I'm willing to take."

All eyes flew to Sky where he stood with his arms crossed over his chest and a hard, determined look on his eyes. The room fell silent to any chaos the chief’s words might have caused. Everyone knew what had happened to the Hero of the Sky. That it had been Time to almost kill him, though fewer knew now that there was a scar where he'd been run through that even the fairies could not erase.

"Since arriving here, I was convinced he was one of us. That he had good in his heart and purity in his actions. I did not see his betrayal coming, and I was the closest to him. I believed him when he told me he would find a way to send me home. Then he tried to murder me." Sky looked up, blue eyes hard and intense, and Zelda felt for him. Of all the Links who had been summoned, this had been hardest for him. He'd been pulled away from a budding family and had almost died before he could see them again. "I'm not going to let what he did to me happen to anyone else. Not while I'm here and can stop him."

"We're all aware of what's at stake," Shade said. "And we remain here to fight. We will not leave you all in your time of need."

"Because even if we did, who will be there during ours if he wins?" Wind added, the young boy's voice high and youthful and filled with more wisdom and calm than Zelda could ever have expected. "We have two days until the Blood Moon rises. We _need_ to stop him."

"Which brings us back to the point at hand," Zelda said. "We've planned and rested for three days now. If there's a time to strike and strike hard, it must be now. We've seen nothing and can only assume that he has spent the time recovering as we have. We must strike."

"We are all prepared, Princess," Prince Sidon said as he lifted his chin and squared his shoulders, confident and strong in the face of so much destruction. "We merely wait for you and Link to lead the charge."

She nodded and her heart trembled in her chest. It seemed all she knew with her life was struggle and strife and being strong enough to lead the way forward into uncertainty with little more than hope to arm her. Zelda wanted to know when it would end. If it would _ever_ end, or if, no matter what, this would be the final true battle of her life – of their lives, hers and Link's both.

"If everyone is ready, then we will begin at dusk when he will not see us coming. Prepare your people and ready yourselves. I will say a prayer to the Goddess Hylia so that she may favor us and strengthen us in our time of need as she has in the past—"

"Princess!"

Princess Zelda's heart froze in her chest because she knew what it meant when she was called like that, interrupted by desperation and fear. The heat in her body flashed away and for an instant she thought of the fish that bleached white when stressed – an image she frequently thought for herself all her life. A fish bleached white and colorless from strain and fear.

She did not appear the only one sensitive to the shifting tides of fate because in a moment the meeting was clearly over. Hands were on weapons and shields and a collective intensity had fallen over the leaders gathered within the war tent. Even Ganondorf had risen from where he'd lounged against the wall to stand properly beside Shade, eyes glowing brighter.

A Sheikah dashed in to immediately drop to a knee before her. "I'm sorry for the interruption, Princess and War Council. But Impa and Purah sent me. It is urgent."

"What is it?" she asked, relieved her voice sounded steady when she was not. "What has happened?"

"There is movement at the castle," he said. "Our Rito scouts have confirmed. The traitor is coming."

She pressed her lips together. "It is not ideal, but this is not unexpected—"

"And he comes with an army."

The world felt as if it had opened to swallow her up. She wasn't sure she was standing straight and only came back to herself when she felt the discreet grasp of her Link's hand tight around her wrist. They glanced at each other and a cold bolt of fear seemed to race between them. But she was steadied by his presence and instead forced words out of her mouth.

"Did you say an army?"

"Yes, Princess," the Sheikah said, eyes tense. "An army of shadows and monsters."

She hardly heard herself when she asked, "How many?"

"A thousand at least. Maybe more."

An uproar flooded the area because an army of that size? They were barely four hundred strong. Where had that size of a force come from? How could it have gathered in the three days they'd waited, and without anyone noticing? She'd felt _nothing_. How was this possible?

How were they going to win this?

The news threw them all into action, and she couldn't have stopped them if she'd tried because she was also rushing out with her champion at her side. She could hardly believe it. She didn't _want_ to believe it because it couldn't be possible. They weren't prepared in the slightest to deal with a force of that magnitude, not after multiple bouts with Ganondorf having worn them down.

She prayed the report was wrong. She prayed that, just this once, the reliable Rito scouts and the loyal Sheikah who supported them had been mistaken. That in this, just this once, they were wrong.

Zelda didn't need to make it to the edge of the plateau to know that they were not wrong. She could make out a shadowed mass marching toward them like a shadow on the dawn and focused now she could feel him – Time – coming ever closer. A power ominous and calm and strong.

The others stopped near her after seeing the impossible on the horizon and she gave orders almost entirely without realizing it, her authority as the leader of their kingdoms rising to the forefront of her mind. The only thing she could trust and hold on to.

"Ready your people, there isn't much time," she said, mind scrambling. "We need intel on what we're dealing with as soon as possible. Any civilians who cannot fight need to be moved somewhere safer. All weapons and armor must be supplied. Time is of the essence and I suspect we are low enough of it as it is."

Movement broke out around her as the people of her Hyrule and the Heroes of Courage reacted. It was little more than a flurry of action. Motion and color and all she could do was stand in the center of it, immovable and frozen.

"Princess."

Unable to help herself, Princess Zelda looked at her chosen champion, the Link who had supported her since the days of old against Calamity Ganon. How she suddenly wished she could go back to simpler times, horrible as it was, where the only worry she had was summoning her divine power to prove to her father and all of Hyrule that she wasn't as worthless as she felt every day of her life.

"We're going to get through this," she said, her voice strained and tight. "Link, we _must_ get through this."

"We will," he said, eyes hard. "We've gotten through everything else that has been thrown at us. We _will_ get through this."

"I don't know if I can take another failure," she admitted, unable to stop herself. She'd never have voiced her true concerns in front of everyone, but with war at their feet, there was no one around to listen except him. "Link."

With everyone else too busy to notice, he took her hand, features as tight as her own. "Princess, I think if we don't get through this one last time, we will never get through anything else again."

Zelda swallowed because that was her sense too. It was everything that was in her heart this very moment because she had no doubt that if Time was coming for her, he would not spare her any more than he had Sky.

And then there would be nothing left to worry about then. She'd be dead, after all. Nothing would matter then.

She refused to let herself believe that was the way this would all turn out.

Squeezing his hand one final time, she nodded to him and he seemed to understand. They'd been through a lot together – more than she thought she'd ever have to endure with another soul. Whatever happened, they were united. Whatever her fate would be, he would share it.

So, if for his sake alone, she would fight harder than she ever had in her life.

"Go. We must win this," she commanded, and he reacted as only her true, chosen knight would, straightening with determination, eyes filled with the same. Then he took her hand and pressed his lips to the back of it in an old Hylian court gesture.

"I won't fail you, Princess."

"I believe in you, my knight," she said.

They shared a look that said more than she could possibly ever explain. They were two souls brought together by hardship and tragedy beyond compare. There was no one she trusted more with her life.

Zelda watched Link go, and as she did she knew that once more the time for battle had arrived.

And it would be more fearsome than she'd ever imagined.

* * *

**Kid**

Kid possessed many skills and items that he'd gathered on his many journeys across dimensions and through time. There were some which were his go-to favorites, always on hand – like his masks, and his blade which never dulled, and his natural ability to shatter tension in a room with a well-placed joke when he felt like it. There were, of course, others that he cared less for, like his ability to kill or the gradual decline in his certainty of a happy future. Then there were the ones he actually hated, like the heady power of the Fierce Deity Mask or the songs of power which filled his dreams with their haunting echoes.

But there was one skill he'd always remained ambivalent about, because it was both helpful and uncomfortable, and it was one he'd learned in Termina as he'd repeated the same three days over and over and over again. Just as musicians began to internalize tempo after practicing their music for so long, Kid had found not long after he'd finally stopped the moon from falling that he'd internalized the passage of time.

It never failed, and he'd amazed more than a few people with his little skill. He didn't need a clock to tell time. He didn't need an hourglass. Kid didn't even need to count out seconds. After so much time spent in a time loop, all he had to do was simply think about how long he wanted or needed to wait and _every single time_ when he felt it was the right time, it _was_.

Usually he ignored this passive time-sense, and it was easy enough to do whenever he was active and engaged. Maybe that was part of the reason why he threw himself into things these days – he had so many reasons to do so, it hardly mattered anymore the truth of the why – but for the times when it mattered, it was as if he had a clock right behind him, one that sounded like Termina's clock tower. Every second marked by a steady 'clunk' as the clock face moved, documenting the passage of time with unmistakable and steady precision that Kid sometimes thought the sound came from within himself. That he _was_ time.

It made this battle worse than most because the Blood Moon would rise soon and he didn't have to guess when that would be, he could feel the passage of time moving closer like the moon above Clock Town drifting nearer. This fight had to end before the full rise of the Blood Moon. This had to end.

And they were running out of time.

It wasn't for lack of trying. Since Time had arrived with an army of flesh and shadow, the gathered forces on the Great Plateau had fought tooth and nail for every advantage they'd been able to take for over a day.

They'd been lucky that most of the plan had been made prior to Time's assault, so it hadn't taken them as long as they'd feared to prepare for the onslaught. Each of the heroes had been paired with a force that would do everything they could to counter threats, and there were many. After the Rito and the Sheikah had completed a preliminary survey of the forces they would face, they found these strange shadow creatures were much like the hollows each of his fellow heroes had faced. Maybe not as strong, but still deadly in their own rights.

They matched each of the races of this world, and that meant the fight was not restricted to the ground, but to sky and water as well.

It wasn't long before Sky took to the air with the Rito, mounted on his brilliant crimson loftwing to engage in dogfights that Kid couldn't even dream of matching, and Wind joined the Gerudo archers, using the wind to make arrows fly further and truer. Wild stood on the front lines with the Hylian, Sheikah, and Goron fighters while Shade and that husk, Ganondorf, worked with the princess's magics to strengthen the protective barrier of the plateau.

Which left him on the waterfront with the Zora. In moments he'd joined Prince Sidon as a Zora and they'd fought hours to repel the forces attempting to gain entry through the water, then as a Goron to get to the other side of the plateau faster to deal with threats attempting to scale the walls.

And at the lead of this army of terror was that traitor, Time.

Some of the threats they had to face weren't shadow manifestations, but real, flesh and blood beings he found were called the Yiga of the Yiga clan. Their presence had surprised all the people of this world, Ganondorf included.

"They should've sided with me. For years they've served me," Ganondorf said as he'd watched the masked ninjas climb the walls before throwing a wave of lightning at them, causing them to fall to the ground, some of which did not rise again. "Seems they are quick to change their loyalties. Shameful."

Kid hadn't thought Ganondorf was one to talk, but as he'd watched the old corpse continue to decimate forces with little more than lightning and fire and will, he couldn't help but think it didn't matter in the end. The Gerudo was useful to them, and he fought with them. Actively keeping their forces safe.

Kid would never say he respected that, not until the day he died. But he couldn't help but be impressed.

The battle, however, trudged on, on and on, and with every wave Kid felt the hands of time move second by second, minute by minute. Rito and Sheikah and Goron, the fastest of them, delivered messages and commands from Zelda and Shade, and lines were held and lost and retaken. Time's forces were repelled from the tall walls of the plateau and the waters and skies above and around it, and for the better part of a day and night, despite the disparity in numbers, it seemed their will and determination were winning out. Time was fighting them steadily, but they had more at stake than he did. It seemed that he could do little directly when he was powering the spell for his forces.

Wild and Sky had gotten close to Time mid-morning the second day, and it was then that Time changed tactics.

Kid supposed he should've seen this coming. After all the various fights they'd all been in, it made sense that eventually Time would change tactics because when it became clear that they could fight the shadow army and gain the advantage, things changed, and Kid suspected that the will and effort they'd put into the fight had been deliberate because the mass of forces vanished.

They were then left to fight massive creatures, fewer of them, that was true, but these were monsters of power. Fighting them would not be easy. They _weren't_ easy. They were each easily as difficult as the final hollow Ganondorf had unleashed upon them.

The tides turned once again, and by noon of the final day, Time advanced and their line broke.

That wasn't to say they hadn't struggled hard to fight him off. For hours and hours Kid had fought against the onslaught, teamed with people he did and did not know, been graced with the healing energy of fairy after fairy as, in a surprise moment of desperation and luck, the four Great Fairies had grown fountains upon the plateau to heal them as they were able. With their help, they were just barely able to stay ahead and defeat a monster at a time.

But with their attentions divided as they were, it was difficult to keep track of everything.

Soon their line had fallen to the base of the plateau. By midafternoon their forces were upon the plateau itself, hard-pressed to repel great, shadowed beasts. Fighters were lost. Energies were running low. They were all beaten and battered, and if it weren't for the power of Princess Zelda, Shade, and Ganondorf, the ward around the plateau would have fallen entirely and they'd have been overrun.

Unfortunately the princess's strength had its limit, it seemed, after fighting Ganondorf for so long. Once Time was close enough, aided by the strength of two pieces of the Triforce, all he'd done was slash at the barrier with a sword glowing gold, and it shattered.

Without the protective barrier, their forces dropped back and the other heroes had condensed into teams. Wild, Wind, and Sky were hard at work on the other side of the plateau as the rest of this world's leaders tried to protect the weak or defend princess Zelda. Ganondorf was proving formidable against the shadow creatures, able to best them, given enough time, and soon the terror of this world was all _anyone_ wanted to see.

Once again he and Shade fought together, protecting their side of the plateau, fighting and fighting and fighting.

And all the while Kid continued to hear Termina's clock tower in the back of his mind, slow and solid, but steady. He was becoming so very tired, and more than a few times Shade had taken mortal blows meant for him. He was getting sloppy. He needed rest, _desperately_ he needed rest, but he kept throwing on masks and taking potions. Only he wasn't using the one thing he knew could turn the tide.

"Use it!" Shade snapped as she fought the latest shadow creature. "Use the damned mask!"

"You use it!" Kid snapped back. "You can do more with it than I can. You can control its power—"

"So can you," Shade said. "I would but I cannot wield the power of the deity, not now. The spell I used to tie Ganondorf to me and keep him alive also prevents me from using it. Trust me, Kid, I tried."

A bolt of cold fear rushed down his spine. He'd wondered why Shade hadn't used it yet when it was literally a game-changer. They were weakening and running low on everything. The Fierce Deity Mask would alter the course of battle.

If the one who put it on could control its power, of course. And Kid could not say with confidence that he could do it.

"I can't," he shouted, blocking with his sword before swinging back. "You don't understand, when I put it on—"

"Damn you, I understand!" Shade snarled. "I know what you've done. I know what you _will_ do. But none of that matters right now. The only thing that does is surviving and defeating Time. You're a Hero of Courage. You're the true Hero of Time!" Shade surprised Kid by snagging him by the front of his tunic and lifting him up so they were eye to undead eye. "By the Goddesses, _act like it._ "

Affronted and chastised, Kid snarled and landed on his feet when Shade dropped him. "You son of a bitch—"

That was as far as he got before he was blindsided by energy so sharp and bright he thought he'd been hit by the sun for an instant. The world whited out and every nerve in his body screamed, but a moment later it let up and he gasped for air like a fish. He was on fire, that was the only explanation for this feeling, but as the bright lights faded from his eyes, he saw that he wasn't on fire.

He'd just been hit by a bolt of energy from Time who now stood on the edge of the plateau, clad in gleaming golden armor befit for a king. He gave them a small, triumphant smile.

"When I first arrived here, I'd have never expected there were two Heroes of Time." Time paused before glancing at Shade, who had darted in front of Kid's vulnerable body while he'd recovered. "Forgive me, _three_ Heroes of Time. But given that there were multiple worlds, I suppose that isn’t surprising. I wonder where the fork in our paths were which made you both and I so different?"

"What? When you went crazy?" Kid demanded through gritted teeth, still struggling to focus and think straight.

"When you became so weak?" Time countered. "You have all the requirements needed to rule your world – all worlds – and yet you kneel before a princess and the goddesses of the land like a dog." Time's eyes shot toward Shade. "Time and time again."

"Get up and fight," Shade said out of the corner of his mouth. "The Blood Moon is on the horizon. We must finish this before it has fully risen."

"I know that!" Kid grunted before he bullied his shaking muscles back upright, gripping his sword in both hands. But Shade was telling the truth. Beyond Time over the edge of the mountains, the moon was rising. But unlike its usual glowing white brilliance, this time it was fearsome and red, just like when they arrived. There wasn't much time now, hours left to defeat this monster.

Kid refused to believe that they could not do it. All this time, all these battles and experiences, they _had_ to do it. They had to succeed.

"You won't win," Time said as he approached them. "Your forces are nearly defeated, you're all on your last legs – even you, Shade – and I'm still quite fresh. A second Triforce piece really does make a difference, I must admit. Not that either of you would know."

"We're not letting you get to the princess," Shade said, voice a low growl, haunting in the way of the dead. "We will not let you advance any further."

"I hardly think you could stop me.” He smiled then, and Kid felt a primal chill dart down his spine. “Besides, I was looking for you anyway. Or, Kid, to be precise."

In a flash, Time moved. It was so quick that Kid barely raised his sword in time out of pure reflex before it was hammered so bitterly be felt the blow all the way to his toes. Suddenly Shade's fist knocked it back, and then Shade was there taking a slash that would've taken Kid's head off. Dazzling fear made Kid's focus crystalize and soon he wasn't thinking at all, just moving, furiously dancing with his older self and a self he'd never become. It would've been incredible if it hadn't been so life-threatening. It was almost as if they were sharing a mind given how fluid they moved. Like they'd practiced all of this before. Like they knew what the others would do before they made a move.

It was infuriating in a way, but he and Shade had the upper hand. There were two of them and one of Time and they were proving that when it came down to it, they were a team to be reckoned with. Time _was_ being repelled and his heart lifted because _yes_. They were doing it. They were beating him. They were going to defeat him and save this world!

Time snarled, eyes furious.

"Enough!"

The back of Time's hand glowed with the power of two golden triangles, and suddenly Kid and Shade were thrown back. Kid went head over heels until his back collided with a boulder, knocking the air out of him. He was suddenly so tired, all he wanted to do was stop. To rest just for a second, but he was familiar with the siren call of fatigue and knew if he didn't get up _right now_ , he'd probably die.

Kid forced his eyes open, forced his body to respond. But when he did, with the ruby light of the Blood Moon glowing in the sky, he saw Time standing before him, sword raised.

"If I kill you, I kill Shade. If I kill him, I kill Ganondorf, and then there will be nothing to stand in my way." Time's eyes softened. "I didn't want it to end this way, but you're too much of a threat to let live."

"Bastard," Kid snarled bitterly, mind flagging as he tried to find some way out of this. Any way at all. But Shade was on the other side of the battlefield and Kid was defenseless. He suddenly wished he had the Fierce Deity Mask. He wished he'd taken it. He could've stopped all of this from happening right at the start if only he'd _done it_ and not been afraid.

Now he watched as the blade fell toward him, and he knew that this time there was no saving him. No stopping this. The end was coming and he suspected it was not the end he should have had. It was over. In these last moments, Kid thought about Epona and Tatl. He thought about Navi, and never seeing her again.

But more than that, Kid thought about Twilight. And somehow that hurt most of all because he'd _never_ see him again, not ever. In dying here, now as he was, Twilight would never exist. They’d never have a future together. They’d never have the relationship he quietly envied Shade for, and the love so easily given between them.

Kid's eyes burned, and all he could think was, _I'm sorry._

A howl tore through the night.

Suddenly there was a snarl, deep and low, a sound that chilled the air, and it was the only warning made before something dark and fast darted out of the dense shadows so quickly Kid could barely keep track of it. One moment Time was standing above him, his sword about to deal the final blow, and the next he was repelled.

The intervention was everything Shade needed to charge in and save him, but Kid wasn't paying attention. Instead he shoved himself upright, chasing after Shade who darted after the blur now that Kid was safe because that snarl had been too familiar and that form too beast-like. Time was yelling as jaws snapped, and just as they climbed the hill, they watched as a distinctive wolf darted away from the would-be king, eyes flashing and teeth bared. He appeared different from before, his pale fur accented by brilliant turquoise and his eyes an intense, focused orange, but there was no doubting the way Kid’s chest pulled at the sight of the wolf in front of them.

"Son," Shade breathed in disbelief.

"Twilight," Kid couldn't help but say, an uncontrollable, relieved smile flashing over his lips.

The wolf snarled again before taking Time by the shoulder with his teeth and throwing him over the edge of the plateau. Both he and Shade dashed forward and were unsurprised to find that the dark hero had managed to save himself with the help of a shadowed Rito. He was on the ground now far below, allowing them a moment to regroup and breathe.

Something shifted in the air behind them and Kid jerked around anticipating an attack, but it wasn't that. Twilight was glowing with a dark, beautiful light, and the fur that covered him and the sharp teeth that had filled his mouth receded as his form shifted and changed. Soon enough his shape was familiar again. Hylian and tall.

But as the light faded away, Kid saw Twilight was not the same as when he'd last seen the knight. Before, Twilight had been tanned-skinned, blond-haired, blue-eyed but now it was as if his entire coloring had been altered. His skin was black and white with accents of turquoise tattoos marking his flesh with geometric design. The shadowed black matched the distinctive coloring of his fur, and his eyes and hair were now a brilliant, eye-catching orange. He was no longer dressed in Hero's Green nor did he wear chain mail, but instead a foreign wrap of some kind, just as geometric and beautiful as the rest of him. His nails remained sharp and clawed, and his teeth seemed sharper than they otherwise would be. But it was him. The son of his future.

Twilight.

Twilight, this strange, new being, squared his shoulders and looked at them with a fierce, confident intensity Kid had never seen before.

"Sorry I'm late," Twilight said, and Kid blinked because it wasn't just his form and appearance that had changed, but his voice now had the strangest echo to it. An indescribable, lyrical depth. "But I came back as soon as I could."

"How are you—?" Shade demanded before he shook his head. "You shouldn't be here. I sent you away!"

"I'm exactly where I need to be, Father," Twilight said simply, an edge of a smirk on his lips. "You trained me. You should know I would never abandon the fight so selfishly."

"But it was for your own good! To keep you safe and away from this wretched war!" Shade snapped.

"And he came back," Kid said, still grinning. Kid couldn't stop himself. "What happened? Where did you go? You look so ... different."

To Kid's surprise and elation, Twilight gave a crooked grin, one he couldn't help but think matched the one he wore himself. It didn’t last though. Twilight’s features sobered before he said, “It’s a long story, and I wish there was time to tell you. But I don’t think we have it.”

Kid watched Twilight glance up, and to his dismay, saw the changed hero was right. Time was coming again, only this time he came clothed in shadows and darkness. Movement around them made Kid jump and he was surprised to find the other heroes had arrived as well, Wind and Wild, and Sky in the air on his loftwing. Even Ganondorf and Zelda had come, all of them standing together as a force against the scourge of Time.

It was the most incredible thing Kid had ever seen. And the most desperate.

“It seems this is where we’ll make our last stand,” Ganondorf said, hands glowing as he prepared a spell. “I hope that courage of yours won’t fail you, heroes.”

“Everyone be on your guard,” Zelda commanded, chin lifted and eyes hard. “We know what is at stake. We _must_ defeat Time before the Blood Moon reaches its zenith. Or before he takes the Triforce of Wisdom from me. One final time we must fight.” She looked at all of them. “Are you ready?”

They glanced around at each other, and it was as if they shared one mind. Not a word needed to be said. Kid’s resolve, now more than ever, was hard as steel.

They were.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Twilight's back, Twilight's back! The gang's all back together and they're (we're) about to go through a gauntlet. I'm *so* excited.
> 
> But first, who wants to know what happened to Twilight?
> 
> Next post on Thursday!


	22. What Happened to Twilight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! This chapter is all about what happened to Twilight after Shade sent him to the Twilight Realm. This is one of the chapters where I took a lot of creative liberties. Since there's not a whole lot of info to describe the Twilight Realm, admittedly I made a lot up to fill the gaps which I hope you'll still enjoy.
> 
> If you're not interested in what happened to Twilight and you just want to carry on with the main plot, I would skip this chapter and go to the next once it's posted :]
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

**Twilight**

While Twilight understood and loved his father, experiencing Shade shoving his vulnerable body away and through a portal before he even had a moment to say otherwise had hurt.

It didn't matter that it had likely saved his life or that he knew his ancestor had made the decision thinking only of Twilight and his happiness. And yes. He wanted this. He'd spent so many nights _dreaming_ of this very thing happening – of following the path of twilight.

Although Twilight had sworn to himself that he'd take any opportunity that arose to cross through and find Midna again, the truth was that deep down, he'd wanted to do it on his terms.

And now his heart felt torn.

Pain radiated through him as he was dropped into a foreign land. A wolfish whine slipped from his throat as he shoved himself up onto his paws, eyes already glancing heavenward as if he could see through the receding portal and back to Shade. But it was gone, vanished in a sky that made his heart clench with ache and want.

Amber radiance. Shadowed clouds like the coming or going of a magnificent storm.

Twilight blinked and he didn't know if the sudden vertigo he experienced was because of travel or an illusion, or if he was in fact at death's door, waiting for the Goddesses to pull him all the way into death. For an unspeakable moment, Twilight was lost.

Then his claws sunk into the earth, steadying himself, and he breathed with a wolf's nose and scented twilight. He shifted his pricked ears and heard the distinctive undertone of twilight. His fur shifted under a tender breeze that felt nothing like his world or Wild's world or _any_ world except the one he craved.

Twilight was in the Twilight Realm. His father had sent him away, but he'd also sent him exactly where he'd wanted to be.

Before he realized it he was pacing, torn between everything he'd always wanted and the battle he'd been forced to leave behind. He didn't know what had happened after Ganondorf rendered him unconscious, and what little he did remember at the end was little more than a blur. Ganondorf sunken and husked. The others gone. Time racing toward him with a sword in his hand. His father's ghoulish face before he was pushed away.

He didn't understand what had happened, but his instincts told him that no matter what, the fight he'd been forced to leave hadn't been over. There was still danger and a foe to defeat.

But he was not there anymore, nor did he think he could get back.

Twilight should have been thrilled about this development. That his father had kept his word as he said he would. That he was proud of him. That Twilight was free of the demands of a hero and could finally, _finally_ have a real chance to pursue what he desired most of all. He should be happier than he'd ever been in his life.

Instead Twilight couldn’t resolve the conflicted knot tearing his stomach apart, and so he lifted his nose, scented the air, and ran.

His higher, Hylian mind didn't know where he was going, but he'd been a wolf long enough to know that while _he_ might not know, his inner wolf always did. He trusted it and trusted that in time it would bridge the gap and help him properly understand what he was doing. Until then, he ran with limbs and muscles still aching and screaming from the battle with Ganondorf. Wounds he hadn't realized he'd received burned with every move, but it didn't matter to him. All he knew was that there was something faint in the air he needed to follow. It was _right_.

He'd been running for longer than he knew, but as he had, the scent in the air had grown stronger. His heart beat faster, tightened with hope that blossomed entirely when he crested a high hill and saw a familiar, otherworldly palace on the horizon, dark and beautiful and haloed by the world's strange light.

The Throne of Twilight was there, watching over this impossible land.

Midna was there.

All of his aches and pains faded as that singular thought overwhelmed him. Before he realized it he was running again, sprinting with a second wind he hadn't known he'd had in reserve. His tongue lolled out and the wind screamed in his ears, but his nose never lost track of her scent and his eyes never left the palace.

Soon he'd found a road leading toward the structure, with impossible beings of light and dark walking along. They startled when they saw him, but he was there and gone before anything could happen. He heard words but couldn't make himself understand what was said. He was too focused for anything else, and so excited that when he reached the base of the castle he howled as loud as he could.

Twilight couldn't recall much of the climb past knowing that he was close. Closer than he ever hoped he would be. Close enough that her scent was becoming a real thing in his nose. It mixed with everything else and all those who lived and worked here, but hers rose above it all, familiar and real. Dark and tantalizing, mysterious, floral, and filled with magic. His chest was heaving and his heart was racing, but all he could think was that she was here.

_She was here she was here she was here._

There were guards the closer he got to the familiar landing of the throne room, and at first they startled, shouted, pursued him, threatened him with weapons and magics. He didn't want to hurt them, they were doing what they were supposed to do, protecting _her_ after everything Zant and Ganondorf had done.

But the higher he went, the easier it became. Instead of running after him intent on catching or subduing him, the guards darted out of the way faster than he could rush past as if making way. They didn't chase after him. Didn't attack him. The path ahead cleared and he was close, so close. The scent of her was everywhere, so pure and real, and he howled again, hoping and hoping and hoping.

He'd expected to find her within her throne room, but the Twilight Princess only smiled at him as he finally reached the great, outdoor landing which overlooked her world. It was as if she'd come out to meet him, had waited for him right there in all of her splendor and all of her glory that when he saw her, he paused. The world stilled and quieted, and while his body ached from the battle on Wild’s world and heaved for breath from the long run, he didn’t care.

Their eyes met, deep orange to his blue, and he didn't know why but it felt like he'd come home.

Midna’s smile morphed into a smirk, eyes beautiful and alight. "Well? You came all this way making such a ruckus and demanding an audience. Are you going to stay there staring at me, or not?"

A soft whine and short woof slipped out of his throat, and he loped the rest of the way into her waiting arms. As a wolf he barely came up to her waist, but she knelt down and soon they were eye-level. She smiled and eagerly carded fingers through his fur before pressing her brow against his own, and his tail wagged so hard his back end seemed to have a mind of its own, because finally. _Finally_. He was here. He was here with her.

If he was dreaming, he wanted to dream this dream forever.

"I could hardly believe it when I heard you, but I'd know that silly howl of yours anywhere," she said, pulling away to stroke his muzzle and tug gently at his scruff, a smile he’d never seen before planted on her face. "It should have been impossible, but I suppose if anyone could do it, it would be you. Though I must admit, I'd hoped if I ever saw you again it would be on two legs instead of four."

Twilight luxuriated in everything about the moment. Her touch. Her scent. Her voice, the closeness between them. It was more intimate than anything he'd experienced in his life, and if _only_ he'd had arms. He'd have held her back. He'd have taken her hands in his and kissed the backs of them. If he'd had a voice which could be understood, oh the things he would say. He wasn't sure what those words would be, but they would've been the truest words he'd ever spoken.

They'd be meant all for her.

To his surprise her arms curled around him and held him tight, and his heart thudded this time not because of the long race to reach this moment, but for something deeper.

"I've missed you, my dear friend," she said into his ear. "I've thought about you often since I closed the portal to our worlds. Hoped for your happiness. Seeing you now brings me nothing but joy."

A whine eased into the air and he shifted his head to look her in the eye, trying to show her that he'd felt the same for her. As before, when she'd been a small imp on his back, she seemed to know and understand from such simple communication.

Yet despite the happy reunion between them, he sensed the change in her almost before her expression softened into melancholy.

"But Link," Midna said, her eyes softening to something real and rare. "Much as my heart lifts that you came all this way to see me, the fact remains that you are not of this world. You do not belong here. You need to go back to the world of light."

She lifted her hand, gesturing to something within her throne room, a mirror, and it glided toward her by impossible magic. It began to glow. The portal opening.

Link's fur stood on its end, making him twice his size. He snarled viciously, baring his teeth as he crouched, ready to dash away.

_No_.

Midna's brows lifted as she paused, and her knights – knights he'd only just noticed standing all around the courtyard – all lifted weapons, ready to defend her against the threat he might pose. He respected that at least. She'd been unprotected against Zant and Ganondorf the first time, he was relieved to see that they were taking her protection more seriously, but regardless, he _was not leaving._ He couldn't. Not now, there was no way.

The Twilight Princess frowned before dismissing the mirror, then the guards around them as well. He could all but smell the reluctance and disapproval, but thoughts of them vanished entirely when she laid her palm on his furred muzzle. Her fingers were gentle and light at first before her touch strengthened as she moved them forward along his muzzle to the crest of his canine head before repeating the motion.

His fur lay flatter and his muscles relaxed, even if he was still wary. A gentle quiet built between them as the motion helped to soothe him, and she smiled before sighing.

"I've missed you," Midna admitted again as if she couldn’t stop herself. "You've missed me?"

He nodded, eyes and head dropping. The action made her palm glide over his crown between his ears and along his neck where she continued to stroke him. It felt so nice. An intimate touch only she was allowed.

"I wasn't lying, my wolf," she said softly. "You can't stay here, even like this, not now. While this form protects you in twilight, it was only ever meant for limited duration, not indefinitely. You will lose your Hylian form and mind if you stay too long in it. And my dear one, forgive me, but while I adore you like this, I would never ask you to fully transform into a beast and lose your mind for me. Surely even you would not want that?"

He glanced up at her and held her brilliant orange eyes with his blue. For her, he'd be willing to do anything. She sighed again, seeming to understand his silent words.

"You would trade your life in the light, your very mind, for a life in twilight, wouldn't you?" she asked as she continued to stroke him. Then she took his face between her hands and held him there. "Why? You had a life in the light world. A home. Friends. A kingdom to protect, a princess to serve, the respect of a people. You could stand in the sunlight and gaze upon your Hyrule's magnificence until the day you died, and you're willing to give all of that up. Link, why?"

A low whine slipped out of his throat and now more than ever he wished he could properly speak. Everything she'd said was true. He'd had all of that in the light. He'd had so much; the peaceful life he'd wanted.

But as he stared at her, the truth sat in him like a light of its own. He'd had all of that and he’d appreciated it. That had been his life. His home. It had been everything he'd hoped to keep protected and strong for those he loved and defended. But his time with Midna and his fights to liberate the Twilight Realm had left him twilight-touched. The world after Midna left was too bright. His body felt too limited in shape. The others didn't understand, no one except Princess Zelda.

How many hours had he stood within the Arbiter’s Grounds to stare at the place the Mirror of Twilight had rested? How many nights had he lost thinking of dark clouds and orange skies, and electric turquoise? Of the comforts of gentle darkness and the one person he wanted to see more than anyone else in the world.

The world of light was both too bright and not enough for him now. He had a feral soul that couldn't be appeased by the gentle peace his Hyrule had been blessed with. He wanted depth and he wanted the close intimacy he'd shared with the true Twilight Princess. And while he wanted to be with Midna, if he could only do so as a wolf to protect her and nothing more, then that would be fine with him. He'd be happy to live his life this way if only she'd keep him with her.

"You want to be here so much, don't you? My dearest wolf, you cannot make this choice about or for me. While it would make me happy beyond measure, this is your life and as the ruler of Twilight, I must take that into account. Forsaking the world of the light ... it's not something you can take back. And that's if you could survive."

Link huffed softly before he pressed his brow into her warm belly. How could he make her understand that he'd thought about this? He'd thought about this for so long it made him wonder if he'd gone insane with the knowledge. That, given half a chance, he would take this in a heartbeat. Twilight was in his soul.

And even if he could not ever _be_ with her as he wished for in his deepest of hearts, being near her would be enough for him. To serve her as the princess _he chose_ would be all he could ever desire as a knight.

The simple fact of the matter was he'd made his decision a long time ago.

His gaze was firm. She sighed.

"I should have known better than to talk reason into you. But … there is a way for you to stay," she finally said before standing and walking toward her throne room. His heart leaped but he remained calm as he moved at her side, steady and ready for anything. More himself than he'd felt in a long time. "But I warn you, it is not a decision taken lightly. It is not for the faint of heart. The process could kill you. You'll be you, but you will be changed. No longer of the light, but of twilight completely.” Midna glanced down at him, her eyes firm and imploring. “Link, you cannot go back from this."

Twilight huffed a breath and gave a soft woof. He didn't care, and that, to his delight, pulled a small smile out of her.

"Well, you've never been faint of heart. I suppose you have a certain level of stupidity to thank for that." Her smile faltered. "I can only hope that will work to your advantage. There are stories of great heroes who attempted what you wish for and failed. My wolf, I do not want you to die."

Twilight gave her a hard look, and it might have been impetuous, and in other proper courts with proper princesses he might have been imprisoned or thrown out for such a look, but with her – only with her – would he do this.

His look demanded to know where the fearless imp within her was because he'd come for her as well. Not just the beautiful princess before him.

She huffed back at him, shoulders straightening in mock indignation. "You've gotten quite cheeky, haven't you?" A smirk spread across her face. "I rather like it. I'd hate for you to have lost that spark of yours on the way."

Twilight couldn't help how his tail wagged. There she was.

Together she led the way along vast, magnificent corridors, past plazas, inward, ever inward and deeper than he'd been before.

"Your wolf form prevents your body from being corrupted by twilight," Midna explained as they descended a set of hidden stairs which locked them in together, alone and in the silence and dark, save only for glowing turquoise inlaid in the stone. "Much like I became a shadow in the world of the light to prevent from being harmed. If you were Hylian here, you could not stay without the darkness tearing you apart. What we will need to do," she said. "Is change you into one of the Twili."

He froze where he was, eyes wide. With all this talk of staying, he'd never considered the answer would be something like changing his entire way of being once again. He'd thought she'd find a way to help him exist here like a wolf, it didn’t matter how so long as he _could_ exist.

Twilight hadn’t expected her to tell him that he might have yet another dream come true.

"What?" Midna asked, smirking at him, even if it didn't linger long enough in her eyes. "You don't like the idea?"

A short bark slipped into the air as his tail wagged and she shook her head at him like she was flabbergasted, but the smile in her eyes was truer now.

"You _would,_ wouldn't you?"

Well, there was no way he could possibly deny it as a wolf. If he were Twili that would be another story.

And he wouldn't be denying anything then.

"I wish you understood how dangerous this could be. While possible, it almost always kills," she cautioned again before eyeing him. "But you have the strongest heart I know. For both our sakes, I pray that you survive where so many others have not."

Twilight didn't let himself consider for an instant that there was an option otherwise. He _would_ survive because the only other options were to die, to remain a wolf forever, or to go back and live a half-life as a Hylian. Given half a chance to become Twili like her, he knew what he was willing to do. The risks he was willing to take.

"Very well. I know the look in your eyes when your mind is made up," she said softly. The stairs downward had leveled off and they were now in a large chamber deep within her palace. There was no one here, and the magic gathered was reacting to her, waking runes and light and objects that had rested dormant.

At the center of the room was a crystal chamber, one surrounded by mirrors on all sides. She led him to the entrance of it, and curiously he eyed it. It was hard to look at without seeing his reflection staring back wherever he looked, but it seemed a simple enough place. Even the floor and ceiling were mirrored. He turned his head to Midna.

"This is the Chamber of Twilight, where your heart will be judged and – if you are worthy – you will be transformed. Link, my dearest," she said, orange eyes going firm. "This will be a painful process. Even if you manage to hold yourself together, if you are not worthy, the process will drive you mad."

Unable to stop himself or his inner wolf, he pressed against her thigh with his body, leaning to comfort her and she sighed before running her fingers through his thick fur again.

"Fearless. Always fearless. And a bit stupid," she said before she knelt again and took the fur at the sides of his face between her hands and looked him in the eye as a princess would a knight. As perhaps, something more.

"If you survive, you will be Twili, Link, and you will be a denizen of this world. One of my people." Her fingers stroked his fur. "And since you've made your choice and are willing to risk dying to stay in the Twilight Realm, I must act as if you are already one of my people. So I have a command for you, my wolf, as your princess."

If things hadn't been serious before, he took them gravely serious now. She'd always been his princess. She'd been his everything from the moment she stepped into his life, and she was giving him an order. A command.

"Survive," she whispered, pressing her brow against his and closing her eyes as she held him close. "Survive for me. You've come this far, you want to go all the way, and all I can ask is that you make it through. That you don't break my heart."

Twilight had come all this way knowing there was a real possibility that, despite how close they'd become fighting and defeating Zant and Ganondorf, the relationship they had might never move further than close friendship. And he'd been fine with that. It would be enough for him to watch over her, to protect Midna as one of her knights, and though he would always love her, just being with her _would be enough_.

But a part of him had hoped, still. A part of him had dreamed that maybe, just maybe, they might be more.

"I have hope for this day for a long time, my wolf," she admitted. "I've dreamed that you would come back and do this very thing. Stay with me in twilight. I would show you all of this world’s beauties. We would protect this land; together, you and I. That you would be Twili. That you would be _my_ knight. That, in my deepest dreams, perhaps you would be so much more than that. And ... here we are. You're trying to make my dreams come true once again."

If he could have smiled he would have. If he could have taken her in his arms, he would have done that too. Instead he licked her chin and pressed against her, letting her hug him tighter.

But soon she let him go and rose to stand over him. She opened the crystalline door to the chamber and held it there so he could glide inward, his claws clicking on the floor. He was big in the chamber, but there was still space for him. Twilight circled before looking at her, her face bittersweet and gentle.

"I believe in you, Link," she said. "But this is your last chance. If you have any reservations at all, do not do this. If you are doing this _only_ for me, my wolf, do not do this. There is no going back."

Twilight made his choice clear by plopping his butt down and curling his tail around his legs, getting comfortable. Midna snorted and shook her head before smiling and rolling her eyes.

"As you wish," she said before closing the door. He saw her hesitate right at the end, thought she might say something more, but in the end she didn't. Midna pressed the door to the chamber firmly closed before stepping back. With the room sealed he couldn't hear anything from outside. The world was cut off and his ears felt like they'd been clogged. He could only hear the sound of his breath as it echoed around him.

For a moment nothing happened. Frankly that moment seemed to go on forever, and he looked at Midna to see what was going on. To find out if this was normal. But she stood there off to the side with her hands raised, glowing with magic and a Twilight Mirror gleaming behind her like a halo, filling her with power, funneling it.

The mirrors just outside the crystal began to move, drifting closer and closer to the crystal walls, boxing him in. Caging him. As they settled into place, darkness gathered, light completely blocked out, and the last thing he saw before it consumed him entirely was Midna's eyes, tight and waiting before he lost them too.

* * *

Twilight didn't know how long he was in the darkness, but he knew it was long enough he could've gone insane if he wanted.

He wasn't afraid of the dark, hadn't been since he'd been forced into the form of a wolf, but this was darkness unlike anything he'd ever experienced before. It was penetrating, all-encompassing. It was so dark his wolf eyes couldn't divine anything, least of all a surprise attack if it was coming. The darkness here was potent. He'd never experienced anything like it in his life.

And strangely enough, it wasn't dark at all.

Twilight moved when nothing happened for what felt like hours, and slowly he scooted a pawed foot close to the crystal edges of the strange room and was surprised to find that he couldn't find them. The sound of his breathing and the taps of his claws on the smooth surface below him still sounded like they were being contained and reflected back at him but as he cautiously explored the impossible area, he found nothing. No walls. No crystal or glass or mirror.

He kept expecting to run headfirst into the wall, but as he moved it never happened.

So he walked because there was nothing else to do. Midna hadn't told him what he needed to do or how this would work and so he was left alone in the dark, feeling his way out. But that was usual for him in most things in life.

It didn't matter though. He'd make it through this. He wanted to do this, to _be_ Twili.

He wanted to be with Midna.

Something changed, but he didn't know when he noticed it or how. He was blind to sight, more or less deaf to sound, and there was nothing to experience except scent, and there was little there. But, he realized, it _was_ there.

It smelled like his home. His home in Ordona Province.

Twilight was running before he realized it, each step fearless and sure. The smell of the forest and the pumpkins of his town, of the oxen and Epona, and the gentle flowers there. He'd traveled so many places and there was no place like it, not ever. It pulled at his heart and drew him close because he did miss his home. His friends. The people who’d taken him in. To see it one more time—

In the enforced silence he managed to hear the sound of his claws digging into crystal as he halted entirely, his instincts abruptly wailing, and he shook his head of the scent until it went away because much as he loved his home, he'd known he might never see it again when he'd left his world. It was a beautiful place in his heart, a place he would never forget and would cherish forever.

But it was a place in the light world, and it wasn't where he wanted to be.

The pull of his home eased and he blinked and realized he could see his paws below him faintly. The change was so unexpected that he circled himself, almost catching his own tail, but it was true. He was glowing slightly, a gentle black at his fur and pale white to his underbelly.

A sound made his ears prick up, and he jerked around when he realized he knew that sound. Those voices. They were the sounds of everyone he knew in his world and was fond of. Hylian, Goron, Zora. They were happy, and they were singing. Enjoying. Those were the sounds he'd fought so hard to save. They made every sound to draw him close and near. To remind him of what he was leaving behind if he continued like this.

Twilight didn't move, even as his heart ached. Instead he listened to the familiar voices, all alive and happy, free to be what they wanted to be and live in a world safe from darkness or harm. There was a part of him that wanted to go there. To bask in them and that wonderful sound. He ached bittersweet because he _would_ miss them.

But they were in the world of light. And much as he would miss them, his life here in twilight was what he wanted more.

Like a farewell, the sounds faded to leave him be, and he wished them well with all his heart. He could hear better now, like he wasn't stuck in a room, but somewhere with definition. Walls, sure, but walls that went somewhere.

To his hearing, it sounded like there was a path around him.

He followed it.

The path seemed to go on forever as he moved from the world of light with a sure heart. His body glowed stronger with the same light that all Twili seemed to possess with every step, and the darkness swallowed him but never hurt him. It was welcoming him.

And then he was blinded.

Twilight wheeled back from the abrupt flood of pure white light that had appeared out of nowhere, beating cruelly at his eyes when they'd become so used to the balmy presence of darkness and twilight. But even as he retreated it was like he was beached because there was nowhere to hide from the light. In it he could see a world, the world, his world perhaps, and it was _beautiful_. Vibrant. Filled with life and color and brightness unlike anything he'd ever experienced before. In another life, this would have been a place of his dreams, sun-filled and radiant. Pure in the way the light world always was.

Now, though, it hurt him. Tried to blind him, and all he could do was hunch in on himself because there were no shadows to protect him here. No twilight to ease away the painful memories that sometimes lingered so strongly in his own heart. The light was so bright and it burned. His eyes ached, his body felt like it was scorching under the rays, and he wondered if this was what it would be like – would _feel_ like every time he stepped out into the world of light, below the sun and all its majesty. He was trading the world of light for this. For twilight and a form that would be destroyed in light should he ever come close to it again. It would kill him. It was killing him now.

Was it worth it?

Although pain raced throughout his body, Twilight relaxed and his breathing eased. His muscles smoothed and he closed his eyes because yes. If this was the price he paid for becoming Twili, for being where he felt deep in his bones he belonged, then yes. It was worth it. And to his surprise, while she was a big part of it, Midna wasn't the reason why. He'd always felt different in his world, apart from everyone he'd known and loved. He'd always thought it was because he _was_ different, and then because he was the Hero of Legend.

But maybe, deep beneath it all, it had been this. It had always been this. Much as he loved the world of light and what it was to the people who lived in it, he'd always craved something a little darker. Not pure darkness, maybe. But something in the middle. Shaded areas and mystery. Danger and beauty misunderstood.

His time as a wolf with Midna had shown him there was a place for his type of soul, and he wanted that. He wanted to be who he truly was. Attain everything he’d dreamed of.

And if it meant he burned here, now, beneath the light, then he would burn because this was what he was now. This was what he chose to be. He loved the light world, but he was filled with darkness as well as light. He was filled with twilight.

The pain vanished and like the coolest, gentlest balm, the fire was gone, as well as the light. Slowly he lifted his head and saw the darkness wasn't so dark anymore. That everything was bathed in shadows and soft light and a color spectrum he'd never seen or noticed before. Around him everything gently glowed and he could finally see the walls again. They were there around him like they'd been in the beginning as if they'd never gone anywhere at all.

In the mirrors all around him, he saw a Twili man crouched low, staring back at him with glowing orange eyes and a shock of vibrant orange hair. Turquoise tattoos. A pattern of black and white skin.

That man had his face.

Twilight gasped and looked down at himself, seeing that he wasn't a wolf anymore, but Hylian-shaped. But he wasn't true Hylian. His hair was orange instead of blond. His skin was no longer sun-kissed but soft shadows and pale white that mirrored his fur patterns as a wolf exactly all across his body. Turquoise markings accented his arms and Triforce mark like gauntlets and down the outer edges of his thighs and tops of his feet, across his brow. His nails were sharp and clawed and his teeth felt pointed and fanged, and his eyes were intense orange. Feral and wolfish.

Slowly he touched his skin, traced markings with clawed fingers, then leaned closer to a mirror to stare, hardly able to believe. He felt like himself, but he also felt different too. Like he was more than he could see. Like he'd grown into something else. Something truer and right.

Twili.

He heard something release and the mirrors clicked before withdrawing back to their original positions. More light filtered in, but it was nothing like the blinding flood that had almost consumed him alive. It was gentle. Inviting. To his new ears he heard something else in the air, like otherworldly ambient sound when he'd only ever been able to hear still silence before. Slowly he stood, testing his new, foalish muscles but they held. He felt stronger the longer he stood. More in control. Healed and strong.

"Link?" Midna said and he heard a faint quiver in her voice of fear and hope. "My wolf, if you've died—"

"I haven't."

Her gasp was soft and almost inaudible, but he heard it all the same. She stared at him as he slowly exited the chamber, and to be fair, he couldn't stop staring at her. He'd thought everything was right and true when he’d been a proper Hylian, that he could see everything as it truly was because it was normal, but like this – like a Twili – he saw so differently. There were more colors than just orange and turquoise, faint, delicate hues he had no names for, and the pales and the darks were so much richer.

Midna, his princess, glowed.

He drifted to her almost without realizing it, standing before her like she was something unspeakably beautiful, incredible, and she was. He couldn't stop looking at her, taking her in like it was the first time he was seeing her because it _felt_ like it was. Like this, here and now, it was as if they were meeting for the first time.

She seemed to be doing the same.

Twilight wasn't sure how long they stood before each other, silent and unmoving before she blinked.

"You're ... shorter than I thought you'd be."

That made him blink because he _was_ shorter, but only by a little when he remembered the distance being greater. Somehow he'd gained height. He glanced down at himself, studying his longer, leaner, almost wolfish limbs and then blinked again, realizing he saw only flesh and nothing more.

He was bare as the day he was born, standing before the Twilight Princess.

A hot blush raced across his cheeks, heating his face like it was on fire, and frantically he looked around, trying to find something to cover with as he curled a hand over himself. This ... this was horrible. A nightmare!

Midna's amused chuckle cut through his embarrassment, and he glowered as she smirked and continued chuckling behind a hand, eyes dancing though there was a distinct reddening of her own pale cheeks.

"Now, now, there's nothing to be embarrassed about, my wolf." Her lips curled higher. "You've certainly got nothing to be ashamed of."

"Thank you, Princess," he said, cheeks burning hotter. "I'm glad you approve."

A mischievous gleam, familiar and breathtaking crossed her eyes, along with something else he tried not to name but couldn't help but think of as appraising. But instead of teasing him more, she lifted a hand. This close to her he could smell the magic in the air, and he marveled that his sense of smell was so sharp now. When the spell manifested and settled, in her hand was a length of cloth, dark on the one side and turquoise on the other.

"Wrap this around yourself, my wolf. I'm sure you'd like to keep yourself modest in front of the rest of the realm, yes?"

"I would," he said, reaching for the cloth and half expecting the imp in her to yank it back at the last moment. She didn't, even if he suspected she wanted to, and she had the decency to glance away. Quickly he tied it about his waist, trying not to rip the delicate-looking fabric, but it was tougher than it appeared. Soon he was covered from hips to knees, and he padded around to catch Midna's attention. "Well?"

"Less distracting, at least," she replied before adding more seriously, "How are you feeling?"

"Good," he said, taking stock of himself. "Great, actually. But different."

"You are so different." To his surprise, she stepped forward, close, so close into his personal space that he could feel the warmth of her radiating toward him. A delicate hand brushed his hair to the side, lightly stroked his cheek and he allowed the touch. He would have allowed so much more. "I can hardly believe it."

"Did you think I would die?" he asked, and her eyes softened.

"No," she replied. "But one never knows when someone so precious is on the line."

Twilight's heart thudded in his chest, but she drew away before he could say anything. Midna turned toward the exit of the room. "Come, my dear Link. Let me show you the Realm of Twilight."

He smiled, then said, "Please show me my new home, Princess."

The look she gave him was filled with pure happiness.

* * *

Her world – _their_ world – was more beautiful than he'd ever imagined, and his memory did him no favors. The few times he had come here had been before defeating the Dark Lord, and it had been a race to locations, and that race had often been as a wolf with Midna urging him on, so he'd seen very little. Similarly the run here after his father had sent him had been filled with nothing but need to reach his true princess.

But now? Now he saw it was as magnificent as Hyrule was in every way. The twilight land stretched on as far as his eyes could see, land floating in islands high above a gorgeous abyss that looked more like a shifting, tantalizing sea than anything else. Portals flashed from one place to another and Twili glided upon the air, free of gravity. Midna couldn't wait to teach him how to glide.

He was bad at it. As a matter of fact, he couldn’t do it at all.

"Seems your inner wolf can't let go of the ground yet," she chuckled, circling him again. She'd been doing that a lot, every chance she could get. "Frankly, he might never, which is fine. Not all Twili float. That's what the portals are for."

"I'll get over it," Twilight said, a little miffed. He wanted to get over it because being able to float like she did would be so nice. But he also couldn't quite look at the abyss below and _believe_ he'd be safe if he stepped above it.

"Perhaps," she said with an amused smirk before motioning him toward a portal.

_Perhaps not_ , his inner wolf huffed, and Twilight sighed.

It seemed she'd done much in the time they'd spent apart because no matter where she went the people, her people – _his_ people – greeted her with smiles and kindness, eager to engage her and she never hesitated to engage with them. She showed him markets with foods and items he'd never seen before. She showed him the academies where knowledge and magic and warcraft were taught. She showed him the most magnificent gardens and views of her kingdom.

And everywhere they went eyes fell on him, and whispers followed.

Semi-clad as he was, he didn't stand out when it seemed the general dress of this world was light and loose, but he definitely _looked_ different from other Twili. Or it might have been fairer to say they were all distinctive from each other in shape, but clearly the same in nature and coloring. Some were more formly like he and Midna while others were less distinct, almost blob-like, or caught somewhere in between. And then some possessed odd qualities like he had wolfish ones. He saw some Twili that had bird features or plant features or fish features, and even some that looked strangely like the guardians from Wild's world. It was an incredible, eclectic place where being different and strange wasn't uncommon at all.

They bowed to him as if he meant something to them, though, and Midna only responded to his quiet question once they returned to her castle and were alone.

"They know who you are, Link," she said, amused. "You're wearing the mark of my hero after all."

His eyes widened and she only grinned impishly before tapping him on the brow. "My wolf."

He soothed the spot with his fingers, remembering that as a wolf he had a distinctive fur pattern that must've transferred over to how he looked now. "But they know?"

"Of course!" Midna replied. "How could I not share our tale without mentioning you?"

"But they were bowing to me," he said, confused.

"Why would they not?" Midna said. "You saved me. You saved our world. Without you, Zant and Ganondorf would still be in power, and this world a shadow of what it is now. You protected and restored it. They know and respect you for that. And they respect you for choosing us and a life in twilight."

Twilight was speechless. His choice had been less a choice and more a need. This was right. It had always been right, and they were proud of him for it?

But he thought about Hyrule and Princess Zelda. He'd saved them as well and they'd respected him for it, but there had been a difference. He'd never needed acknowledgment, but he'd never felt accepted for his work. They'd wanted his help in training new soldiers, passing on his father's wisdom, and Zelda had occasionally desired his opinion.

It wasn't like here though. He'd been a Twili all of an evening and the world here, the people here, accepted him. As they'd passed through markets, he'd seen kids and adults follow after, curious and smiling, and he'd thought it was mostly for Midna.

But maybe a bit of it had been for him.

"Have you thought about what you want to do here, Link?" she asked as they ascended the steps to her throne room, and the question took him by surprise.

"Uh," he said, glancing aside, and she sighed and smiled but shook her head.

"You just came on a whim didn't you?" she said. "Didn't think it through? You never do."

"I-I mean, I was trying to get here, that's true. And I wasn't sure what might happen, I just wanted to be here. To see you again," he said, trying to find the right words and sure he was butchering it. "I hadn't thought I'd become a Twili. I hadn't thought anything except ..."

The quiet stretched and she arched a brow expectantly. "Except?"

"Except that I wanted to see you again," he replied honestly, giving up on any pretense. "I didn't want to stay in a world without you."

Her eyes softened. "So you came for me?"

"Partially," Twilight said. "But also, my time in twilight changed me. I wasn't the same in my world. It was all so ... bright. But this?" He lifted his hands to the world around them upon the seat of Midna's kingdom. "This feels _right_ to me. Like my soul has found its place. I want to be here. I want to protect this world. The light world has Zelda and it couldn't be in better hands. But I wanted to be here. To support you, if you allowed me."

"I see," she said. "And if I told you I do not need support, my little wolf? That there is no place for you here by my side?"

Twilight turned to her and couldn't help but give her a wolfish grin. "Is that true?"

Her eyes widened before she snorted and turned her nose up at him though a small smile curved her lips. "Cheeky."

The Twilight Realm had darkened somewhat in what Midna explained was their equivalent of nighttime. It cast everything in a deeper shadow than ever and added new and different colors to the world. Everything began to quiet and rest and while he could still hear activity in the castle, it was much less than he'd heard earlier.

"You can stay here," she said as she opened a door for him, leading him into a simple but spacious room with a breathtaking view of twilight that he didn't think he'd ever get used to and prayed he'd never get used to. "You're welcome to use it for as long as you like. Or until you find a place of your own."

Twilight glanced at her. He'd come here expecting nothing and had somehow received everything he could've ever dreamed of. He had no plans; he'd never thought this far. Hoping for twilight and to see Midna again had been as far as he'd ever dared let himself dream. More would have broken him.

"I ... don't think it will be any time soon, Princess," he admitted. "It might take me some time to get my feet under me. I don't even know where I fit in, now that I'm here. Twili."

The door shut and Midna neared him with soft eyes and a smirk that didn't quite reach them. Her voice was soft when she said, "Where you fit in, my wolf? You came all the way to the Twilight Realm when it could have killed you, when you could only be here as a wolf, all to see me. You’ve chosen twilight. You’ve changed yourself to be _here._ " Slowly her hand lifted to slip along the line of his jaw, igniting sparks and making his heart race. "How could you be anywhere other than at my side?"

"It's where I want to be, if you'll have me," he said, completely honest as he stayed as still as possible because his inner wolf was rising, and he didn't know what he would do if he let himself move even an inch. "I've dreamed of our time together. I've dreamed of you. I stood in the Arbiter’s Grounds every chance I could, hoping I could get back. I haven't felt right without you. _Anything_ I can do for you, Princess, that's all I want."

"And if I wanted you to stay by my side forever?" she asked softly, moving closer. There was barely space between them now, and it was a struggle to keep his hands where they were by his side and not reach for her like he craved to so badly. "As my knight? My champion? The wolf at my side?"

"Yes," he whispered, swallowing to keep his hope out of his voice and failing. "Yes to all of it."

She hummed as her fingers slipped along his jaw again, then to his shock and delight lower along his neck, his collarbone, feather-light down his chest.

"And ... if I wanted more?" she asked, her eyes slipping down to look instead at where her fingers now rested gently on the skin over his heart. This time he couldn't keep himself still. A hand reached up and curled around her softer one and pressed it flat against his chest. Her eyes lifted and they stared at each other. He couldn't find it in him to be bashful or lie. So much had happened, he'd endured so much, he was truly, finally _here_.

So Twilight told the truth.

"You can have it. It was always yours," he said before he gave her a small smile. "I love you."

"Oh, my brave wolf," Midna sighed, a tender smile crossing her lips. "I've waited so long to hear those words."

The space between them suddenly vanished and her lips were on his, her body pressed against his, soft and curvy and so very warm. His other hand lifted to her hip and his experience of the world shrank to just the two of them. This was more than he dared hope for, _ever_. He'd wanted, sure, but she was a princess and from another world. They'd been fond of each other, that was true, but this?

He hadn't dared hope.

But it was happening now, he could hardly think, his heart was racing and the scent of her was delicate and overwhelming in his nose. He would do anything for her. Anything at all.

One of her hands drifted to his hip, to the knot holding the wrap around him and he felt it loosen. He didn't stop her when she pulled it away and let it drop to the floor.

Twilight didn't think he would ever stop her.

* * *

The last few days he'd spent in twilight left him certain he was either dreaming or had died and moved on to the best place because they were truly the happiest days of his life.

It was more than he could have ever hoped for in his wildest dreams. Days spent exploring a world that was beautiful and wanted him. One he fit into, belonged to far more than his own world had felt to him. He'd been welcomed in Hyrule, but there was always something different about him and other Hylians after Ganondorf's defeat. They couldn't relate. Only Zelda could relate, but she was too busy ruling the kingdom for much more than a few words of support. He'd begun to feel isolated and alone. Far from a home he didn't realize he wanted or had.

But he'd found it now, and not only with Midna. He might have been new, he might have only been in their world for a handful of days, but no matter where he went or what he did, the Twili welcomed him. Drew him in and make him feel like he belonged. Maybe he'd thought the truth of what he'd been would have stopped them, but mysterious as they were, he realized the Twili were the friendliest race once they were safe and under the care of a good ruler. He met many people, shared so many stories, everyone thanked him.

He loved it here. While he'd been lost the first day or two, he realized that he could have a life here, a _real_ life, with friends and hobbies, favorite places and seemingly endless space to roam and let his inner wolf run free. Here in twilight he was home, and his soul knew it.

And he'd never found a truer place in any world than by Midna's side.

When she wasn't in court and he wasn’t off exploring, they spent most of their time together, and even when she was in court he sometimes lingered with the rest of the guards to keep an eye on things. His sudden appearance and favor with the princess had caused a stir, but not a bad one it seemed.

"She's been subdued for some time," the Captain of the Guard had told him when they had a moment alone one evening. "Herself of course, and more cautious than ever before. But she's never been solemn, and it has been visible to everyone. But since your return into her life?" The captain smiled. "It’s like she’s revived. It was rare to hear her laugh, but she has done so more since you've arrived than she has since the Twilight Realm was saved. Link, it is a good thing to hear."

He might not have seen it like the others could, but he sensed it in the attention she gave him. When she'd been little more than an imp on his back, she'd been pushy and mean, but also unrelentingly clingy, like she might lose the only support she had if she didn't behave that way when she'd lost so much already. The more their trust in each other had grown, the kinder and sweeter she'd become, less harsh but always mischievous and impish at heart rather than by force.

Together like this, Twili both, she surprised him by teasing and playing, giving him more smiles than he thought he could ever enjoy in a lifetime, and so much care. This was a new facet of her, and he was falling in love again and again every day.

And every night.

This development he'd never let himself think about no matter how much he'd wanted it. She was a princess and he was just a man from the provinces. He was unworthy, had always been unworthy. He'd lived in a tree, after all, by himself with little to his name except a wonderful steed.

But she didn't care about that. They'd defeated Zant and Ganondorf together. Whatever he'd done with her seemed to have made the biggest impression because none of his humble beginnings took him down in her eyes. Every night thus far had been, well, beyond his imaginings. Pleasurable, sure. That went without saying.

But he'd never felt so loved before, not like this. Sharing her bed, basking in her attention, able to protect her and comfort her at a moment’s notice. It was everything he'd ever wanted.

And yet, there was a shadow creeping over his heart, and it would not let go, like jaws clenching and teeth stabbing in without pause. It was a slow creep, he almost hadn't noticed it at first. But in the small moments when he was between events or Midna or sparring with the other knights of twilight, his mind wandered. He thought about his Hyrule, yes. He always would.

But he also thought about Wild's Hyrule and everything he'd done there. He thought about Kid and the others, and how he'd been forced to leave them behind, and the fuzzy memories he had before he'd been forced to leave. He thought about his father, who'd forced him away without a chance to talk, and how that was so unlike him. Like he'd been hurrying Twilight away before danger and death could touch him.

He remembered a bleary memory just as he was starting to come to. The dark look in Time's eyes as he neared him, sword raised while his father tried to reach him. A piercing, otherworldly note of music screaming into the air. How, and he wasn't sure if he imagined it or not, there were two Triforce pieces glowing on Time's hand.

As the days passed, he was becoming more and more sure that he'd left something unfinished behind. That the world there, Wild's world – his father – still needed him. To be a hero just one more time. But like this, with Midna and in a world that he loved and belonged in finally within his grasp, he wanted to turn away. Ignore the pull.

"You're bothered, my wolf," Midna said as she stroked his chest, tracing his patterning like she liked to do after they made love. "I've noticed it. What's on your mind?"

"If I say it," he sighed, taking her hand and holding her eyes. "Neither of us will like it. We could pretend it doesn't exist."

Midna snorted before getting more comfortable beside him on the bed, resting her chin on her palm and kicking her feet lazily in the air. "That's not like you, so now I know it's important. What is it, Link?"

He sighed and tore his eyes away from her face to stare up at the ceiling. He didn't want to say anything, but his heart was bothered and all he could think of was his father and Kid, the others and Time, and the certainty that he wasn’t done there, not yet. Something he _needed_ to do if he truly wanted to have a happy life here, and not feel as if he hadn't earned it.

"Before I came here, I was pulled from my Hyrule to another Hyrule," he explained. "To help their Link save their land from their Ganondorf. And I wasn't the only one. Five others were called, and one of them? He was my father."

"The Golden Wolf?" she asked curiously. "The one you were telling me about? The one who trained you?"

"Yes, but he was real. Alive, I mean, or he looked alive, but that's not what's important. We were pulled there to fight for their world, and we did. We defeated Ganondorf."

"Then why is your heart bothered?" she asked, drawing his eyes back to hers. "You want to be here, you _belong_ here. You wouldn't have passed the test and become Twili if it wasn't true."

"All I _want_ is to be here. I want to be here, with you, and never look back. Never have a reason to look back."

She studied him, tilting her head as she considered.

"You have a reason. What's your reason?"

"When I left, it wasn't my decision. Not entirely. Not really," Twilight sighed. "I was looking for a way here and my father knew that. He found a Twilight Mirror in that world and after we defeated Ganondorf I was dazed and wounded ... but I think one of the Links who was summoned like I was turned on everyone."

"And their world is not safe. Not free," she finished, growing serious and rising slightly. "Oh, you were right that we wouldn't like this," she said, but instead of getting angry, her eyes hardened. "Tell me everything, my wolf."

So he did. He told her all he could and by the time he was done she was sitting upright with a pinch in her brow.

"So there is a hero out there who has stolen the Triforce of Power. And if he has done so, if he wanted to _kill you_ , it's likely because he wants to eliminate any threats before he attempts to take the Triforce of Wisdom. Do you think he could take it from this … Wild Zelda?"

"Perhaps," he admitted. "They were on their last legs when we arrived, and desperate."

"And if he makes a wish, I sense it will not be one of benevolence," she said. "And he knows there are other worlds. He might begin looking past his own homeworld toward other worlds. Other realms."

Twilight's inner wolf bristled at the thought as his heart cooled with dread. No. The Twilight Realm could not be in danger, not so soon after it had been liberated. Not now that he was finding a home here. But it had been days since he'd been pushed from Wild's world. He had no idea what was going on, if this was all speculation, or if Time had won or been defeated yet. Anything could have happened while he was away.

"I think," Midna said quietly. "That we need to look into some mirrors." She stood, reaching for her clothing and tossing his at him. "Get dressed. You might not have much time."

He swallowed and clenched his jaw, and he loved her more than he could ever say because if his family was in danger? If the others needed him, _he had_ to go. Like it or not.

Because he was still a Hero of Courage, no matter what he was now, and if he could, if there was time, he was going to find a way to help. He had to. There was no other way. If they needed him, he would fight this one final battle so his heart and soul would be free to move on and grow in this new life because he couldn't abandon them, not now. He had to do it.

Or he would never truly become who or what he wanted to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All right everyone. The final showdown is in the next chapter, and it is a beefy one. Something like 14k long on its own, it's *chocked full*. I'm very excited. I hope you are too :]
> 
> Next post on Monday!


	23. Blood Moon Rises

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Here we are, the final battle. I hope you're as excited for it as I am :]
> 
> Enjoy!

**Sky**

The magnitude of strangeness that he'd endured in the last month alone tempered him to the presence of the very changed but clear Hero of Twilight. Whatever had happened to him and how Twilight had come back were questions that burned in him, but there just wasn't time for that, and he sensed he might not get any time for it at all. They needed to defeat Time before the Blood Moon rose to its zenith. It was only a few hours away.

And they had not had much success thus far.

It didn't matter though, not to him anyway. He'd endured a great many battles in his life, been hurt and wounded in ways that sometimes made him wake at night, screaming where only Zelda's kind touch could calm him and lure him back to sleep.

But this was different. This fight blazed within him, had left a permanent scar on his chest from a betrayal he hadn’t seen coming. From someone he'd considered a brother and a friend, and who had done the deed with the Master Sword.

Sky had never been a bitter man, but this was personal now and what kind feelings he’d had for Time were gone. Time had almost killed him using Fi. He'd tried to stop him from going home to his family, and while Zelda might have been more sympathetic in this sort of situation, he was not.

Upon his scarlet loftwing, he watched as Time advanced, engaged the other heroes, and when he saw the right opportunity he slipped off his giant bird and joined the fray from above, the Master Sword he’d borrowed from Wild earlier clenched in his hand. Time was right there, throwing energy blasts not unlike what Sky had seen Ganondorf wield or Demise use, using them to keep the other heroes at bay, but Time was so focused on everyone else that he didn't notice Sky’s descent from above.

At least, he'd thought Time hadn't. But as he'd readied the Master Sword for a final, death-dealing blow, Time glanced up and gave him a familiar gentle smile. He leaped back and out of range, pulling out a sword of his own just as Sky slammed into the ground.

"Clever, but I'd anticipated such a trick from one who lived in the sky." Time lifted his blade. "You're on the ground now, and I don't want to drag this out. Not for you. I would prefer to give you a swift end. I'm sorry my first attempt failed."

"You tried to kill me," Sky spat. "You _almost_ killed me, and with the Master Sword no less!"

"It was a mercy," Time said. "I couldn't let you live, not after knowing that your lineage is assured. You're a threat to the future I wish to bring about. You're all a threat. But if you could just see what I want to do, just listen for a moment, maybe—"

"No," Sky said, tone firm. "If there was anything redeeming about what you plan to do, then there would be no need to kill us all preemptively. If you tried to kill me the moment you got the Triforce of Power without breathing a word about this great plan of yours by then, why would I believe you now?"

Time opened his mouth to reply, but if there was something Sky had learned, it was that Time had a skill for talking. For diplomacy and words, and Sky didn't want to listen. That wasn't how he was going to communicate, not right now because it was clear from the short conversation that whatever Time thought, he didn't think what others had to say or think mattered. After all this time bonding, he hadn't hesitated to turn his sword upon Sky.

And with his future on the line, his family on the line and likely his entire Hyrule, Sky couldn’t afford to hesitate either.

So he didn't. With brutal efficiency, Sky threw himself into his swordplay and imagined the man he was facing with the face so like his _was not_ the man he'd called a brother. He wasn't, after all. Sky didn't think that man had ever existed. This was someone else. A tyrant.

And he could not let him win.

Time was good with his sword, fast and lethal, but it was quickly becoming apparent that he was deadliest when no one knew he was coming. In this direct confrontation with their swords clashing and on level ground, it was obvious to Sky who was better trained, and it was not Time. Sky laid in relentlessly, funneling his anger and his frustrations and fear into perfect flow accented by the sound of their blades clashing. The Master Sword was familiar and sure in his palm and with every move, Time was being repelled.

He would do this. He would succeed for himself, for his Zelda and his family and his world. But he'd also do it for this world as well, the world he'd struggled with and the one that had needed him though he'd wanted to be here less than anything. He wanted to go home, but he also wanted to ensure that all places were safe for everyone. So no one would ever have to go through what he had.

And that meant stopping Time, here and now.

The Master Sword flashed and the sword in Time's hand flew away leaving him defenseless to Sky's blade. Sweat lined his back, he was filthy from the flood of battles before and his heart raced hard enough it ached, but he refused to let it bother him in the slightest. The fallen hero's hands clenched as he caught himself from falling over, and they leveled their gazes at each other.

Time smiled but it was all teeth. "You may be the better swordsman, Sky. In a straight battle, you would win, that is without question." His hand began to glow with the light of two Triforce pieces. The air around the former hero crackled. "But this isn't a sword fight, brother."

Sky didn't have time to react, the attack happened so fast. One moment he was on the verge of victory over the fallen hero as he bared down with the Master Sword, and the next everything was a flash of pain and bright light; a scream with a voice he could not hear as he lost touch with reality. Sky didn't think his feet were on the ground anymore, nor that he was alive either. The attack had been brutal and full-force less than a foot in front of him. Time had once again not held back. It was another killing blow.

_No._

Fi's voice cut through the white static as a wave of clean energy shielded him, blocking out the power, and the next thing Sky knew he was gasping and airborne, all but soaring through the air in pain and confusion but alive. Sky expected to hit the ground hard, he was going so fast, but instead he collided with something warm and solid. Made of flesh rather than stone or tree or earth.

Blearily he glanced up and saw a blur of turquoise and orange. Of moon-pale and shadow-black skin, and teeth sharp enough he was sure they could shred the unsuspecting with ease.

"Twilight?"

But the strange-looking hero wasn't looking at him, and with good reason. Sky's body was still screaming but he was able to see that Time had broken through their vanguard and had a straight shot at the princess, ready and able to kill her and take the final piece he needed to complete the Triforce and make his wish.

* * *

**Wind**

It was going too fast, it was all going too fast to keep track of, and he was trying as hard as he could because he was actually _good_ at this sort of thing. The endless sea that always concealed. Islands with heights that provided perfect vantage points for attacks on the unexpecting. Sudden thunderstorms he couldn’t escape from and could only endure. He was _good_ at keeping track of battles because his Great Sea, at its heart, was a constant unpredictable battle against nature.

But this ... all of Wind's fights had been battles where he was alone to face the threat, or with a little help. And while, yes, he'd fought with the others to defeat this world's Ganondorf, and with them to face the final hollow, he didn’t think any of it counted. The hollow fight had been a mess and he wasn't sure he remembered the fight with Ganondorf all too well now that alliances had been switched so radically and pretty much nothing made sense.

Wind wanted a better perspective. He wanted a break in the fight so he could really see what was going on because Sky and Time, they were just so fast. He'd never seen swordsmanship like that before, and he was just glad that his Ganondorf hadn't been that skilled because while Wind was pretty good with a sword by now, he wasn't like _that_. Blurs of motion, sparks of light from blades drawn fast across each other. It made his heart beat faster just looking at it and they kept it up for what seemed like forever as everyone waited for an opening to take their shots.

The dueling blades broke apart now and again and that was ideal for a fast Link like Twilight or a clever one like Kid, but he and Wild and Shade were slower and maybe a little less creative. They had to wait for the fight to change. To see if Sky would win against Time or not.

It seemed like they'd spent so long on the sword fight that it was almost startling when Time used a blast of energy to shoot Sky away, and it was only because Twilight caught him that Sky stopped from toppling over the edge of the plateau. But without anyone to directly distract him, Time was coming, this time for Princess Zelda.

The others launched themselves at Time, but it seemed like after the long fight with Sky he was done playing. Before anyone could react, he'd already thrown blasts of power and summoned shadowed creatures to distract Wild, Shade, and Ganondorf before he'd all but backhanded Kid away when he'd drawn near. Time was coming toward him now because he was all that stood before the princess, sword raised.

Not good. Not good at all.

"Wind, this isn't the way I wanted to face you. Truly, I don't want to hurt you at all," Time said with a concerned look in his eyes. "You're practically an innocent in all of this, a child fighting a war you had no part in. I know what that's like."

"Stay back," Wind ordered with bared teeth, anger rising as he thought frantically about what he needed to do. If Time got the Triforce of Wisdom, that was _it_. No Great Sea. No endless adventures he now knew he wanted to enjoy all his life. No Aryll or Grandma. No Tetra. "I'm not going to let you get to her."

"You don't even know her," Time countered. "She's the one that pulled you from your home when you are nothing more than a young boy. The cruelty there is cold, even for me. Step aside, Wind. Let me take what is rightfully mine. I won't kill you. I'll send you back home."

Wind snarled at the weak flutter his heart gave as he imagined _just that_ before he remembered Sky and what this Link planned to do. "And then what? You won't be satisfied with your world or this world, or just one or two more. You want them all, and eventually you'll come to my Great Sea. But there won't be heroes gathered to defend it, not like now, and you’ll kill me there before you take it too." Decision made and courage flowing through his heart and feeding his strength, Wind made his declaration. "I won’t move."

Time’s face hardened and he lifted his hand. "Foolish boy. I gave you a chance. It is not my fault what happens now since you did not take it."

It was instinct that made Wind move, and it wasn't to lift his sword to fend off the blow. Instead, he dropped his sword, but it was only so his hands were free enough to draw the Wind Waker because at the end of the day he might be pretty good with a sword, but he was better with magic.

And he just needed to stop Time long enough, protect Zelda long enough, so the others could help him.

Summoning the wind and activating his protective magics, a barrier flew up around himself and Zelda as the wind plowed into the former hero, holding him back. And it worked, because for the first few, precious moments, Time had been thrown back, repelled. Wind’s confidence rose.

But then Time seemed to get his bearings. Two pieces of the Triforce glowed in the howling gale he'd created, and while his wind slowed the other hero down, it did not stop him. Time was advancing and the other heroes were still busy with their own fights. He was plowing through the wind now with energy he used as a shield. Soon Time would reach them and if he could make it through the wind like that, what could he do to Wind’s little barrier?

Hands gripped his small shoulders and energizing blue magic flooded his body and strengthened his barrier just as Time attacked it. To his astonishment and relief, it held, even if he felt the attack reverberate all the way to the core of him.

"Stay strong, Wind," Zelda said, voice tight as she continued to pour energy into him, into the barrier with all she had. Her hands clenched so tight into his flesh it hurt, but he could hardly feel it when faced with the fury of Time. "A little longer, we can do this!"

"Right!" he said, and he didn't know if he believed or not, but it didn't matter. The barrier was holding and that was all that mattered. They were working together and Zelda was safe and it _was_ working.

It was working so well until, unfortunately, it wasn't. After one particularly brutal attack, a glowing crack formed in the barrier around them, and Wind could feel its weakness as if the crack were within him. It was dangerous. A vulnerable point. Zelda’s nails dug into him.

And a look at Time's eyes told him the fallen hero knew it. They were out of time.

"I-I can't hold him!" Wind screamed as the barrier around them began splintering from the crack and his magical power began to drain quicker than ever, even with Zelda feeding him energy and doing everything she could to help. "He's too strong!"

"Don't give up," she said through clenched teeth, blue eyes hard as steel. "We have two pieces of the Triforce as well. We can fight him!"

That helped, but there was so much _power_ to fight off, and while he would never give up, he just wasn't _that_ strong. Together he and Zelda were powerful. The barrier _was_ holding.

But would it hold longer than Time's will?

He wasn't sure, especially when his barrier continued to fracture, fissures of glowing white light spidering out, weakening with every blow. An icy prickle ran down his spine even as he focused and poured more of himself into the barrier. If it broke, Time would get to Zelda. If he didn't stop Time here and now, he'd get the Triforce of Wisdom.

"A valiant effort, I will admit. Someone so young and small with such strength is commendable, and the sheer will of the princess of this world is similarly admirable. You both will never give up," Time said before his eyes hardened. "But I've gone through too much to let a small boy and young girl ruin everything I've worked for and stop me from taking what is rightfully mine."

It happened so fast. One moment his barrier was holding, and the next it was just ... gone. Wind wheeled back, snatching at his bow and throwing himself in front of Zelda, but Time was already so close. He was reaching for Zelda, knocking Wind's strung bow away with the back of his gauntlet. Time was going to get her. He was so _close_.

Undead hands suddenly appeared out of nowhere – one sunken and corpse-like and the other skeletal and glowing – to grab Time almost out of midair, stopping his assault to throw him back and away from Wind and Zelda.

"Get out of here," Ganondorf said as he stood next to Shade, hands glowing. "This is no place for a child or a princess."

"Take her," Shade agreed, lifting his sword daringly. "We'll hold him off."

"But—" Zelda said, stunned, but Wind was never one to stay dazed long. Too much had happened that he couldn't just roll with everything now. He snatched Zelda's hand, urged her up, and then they were running for safety, running as fast as they could away from the mad Link strong enough to do battle with titans.

* * *

**Shade**

Shade was lost in time and memories because all of this was unlike anything he'd ever experienced before, and yet somehow exactly like what he remembered in chucks and pieces the more time progressed. He'd done this before, all of this before so long ago, as Kid, and he recalled fuzzy memories like the press of instincts trying to assert themselves. He tried to remember what he'd once done as both Kid and Shade. He tried to gain hints, mine his memory for something useful.

But the bottom line was that trying to remember was slowing him down. While he wanted the intelligence, the simple fact of the matter was that he was fighting time, literally and figuratively, and he had to make choices between thinking and acting.

He was and had always been a man of action.

That was why it had been decidedly easy to reach and save Wind and Princess Zelda right when Time had made his final assault on them, and in the back of his mind he remembered watching himself do this before he'd been overwhelmed by shadowed creatures to fight as Kid. He didn't know what happened next.

But Ganondorf was by his side. With Wind and Zelda safe behind them, they stood together, brothers-in-arms for the first time.

"This brat's getting on my last nerve," Ganondorf said as he readied a spell. "What do you say we teach him a thing or two?"

"I was thinking the same," Shade replied as he sprinted forward, blade raised. The battle had been long, there had been many casualties and this Hyrule was on its last legs. This _needed_ to end. It needed to end as soon as possible, and if he had his way, he was going to make it happen. He _had_ to do it.

"You’re fools if you think a pair of corpses will stop me, no matter who you were in life," Time said as their blades clashed. Time broke away in time to avoid Ganondorf's energy blast. "But what I have planned for all worlds isn't something meant for the dead. You have no place in it."

"If we didn't," Ganondorf replied as he shot three more spells rapid fire. "Why are we still in it?"

"A senseless question that won't matter once I've made my wish," Time replied, and this time he went on the offensive powered by both the Triforce of Courage and Triforce of Power.

It was brutal to say the least, and Shade was uncertain if the other heroes gathered could have survived the onslaught. Time did not pull punches, every attack was made with pure lethal intent and Shade endured strikes that would have meant the certain death of someone living.

But he was not living. He was made of bone and spirit-flesh, and while he felt some of it, it was nothing more than a sensation easily ignored by death and will, both of which he had in spades. Ganondorf similarly held no particular restrictions upon himself and unleashed the might he had in his own right gathered from ten thousand years of existence, even without his piece of the Triforce. He was furious and amused, relieved to throw everything he had at a target they were all facing. Ready to rend Time from the pedestal he was climbing, and doing it with him.

And what a team they made.

It was useful that they'd fought each other so cruelly the first time, before their deal. During the fight at the castle when it had been Ganondorf against the other six, he'd watched the battle and known the old king hadn't had his heart in it, not like when they'd dueled. The Gerudo had fought the others relentlessly, but it hadn't had the same brutal vibrancy he'd used against Shade. It hadn't even come close, and Shade had been confident from the beginning about what the outcome of that fight would be, and he'd been right. Even if he'd been wrong about everything after.

But that vibrancy was back now as if Ganondorf had found inspiration in Shade, and frankly Shade couldn't help but feel the same. They'd learned from each other, fought and battled with intensity Shade couldn't recall ever having experienced in his many years, and now that compatibility wasn't turned against each other but toward a common enemy. All the times he'd endured every attack Ganondorf had thrown at him made reading his attack patterns – his true attack patterns – clear and easy, and the same could be said for Shade. They didn't need to speak. They barely had to do anything other than twitch, and it was as if they'd had an entire conversation, everything perfectly coordinated.

Shade had always imagined he and Twilight would have this sort of cohesion, but he'd never in all his existence experienced it like this with anyone. Not Zelda. Not Navi or Tatl or any other fairy. No other companion.

But Ganondorf, it seemed at this stage in his existence, was his true and natural equal.

The moon was climbing and with their combined power singing in the bond between them, they were distracting Time long enough for the others to defeat their shadowed enemies and what Yiga still existed. Time was becoming agitated, Shade could see it on his face, and he was losing ground again. It was a slow battle, but they could do it. He and Ganondorf could end this.

Pain – radiant, bright, unignorable – shot through him the instant Time changed his attack style to abruptly avoid engaging him so he could run Ganondorf through with a blade.

Shade felt the wound as if it had been real upon a flesh body and it made him stagger and lose what momentum he'd had. Till now he'd been the direct combatant and had taken most if not all of the damage. A shield and sword while the emaciated Ganondorf shot magic relentlessly. But that had been by design because the magic which he'd used to save Ganondorf originally, to keep him alive long enough so he could at some point retake the Triforce of Power, had bound them together. Tied them in ways that had given them blessings, yes. They could empower the other. Support them.

But it had also left them vulnerable, and they’d done everything they could to prevent Time from finding that vulnerability. But now that he had, now that his keen and clever eyes had noticed the way the attack on Ganondorf had rebounded on Shade in ways any other attacks had not before, he could see it in the fallen hero’s blue eyes.

It was all Shade could do to get to Ganondorf and block the next fatal blow. It was only half-successful and that was because Ganondorf had also thrown up a protective spell that had covered them both, but it hardly mattered. It had given Time the moment he needed to regroup and soon he'd repositioned and attacked Ganondorf again. They fell in on each other, Ganondorf and Shade back-to-back, but already he could feel himself weakening with his literal and proverbial soft spot revealed, and Ganondorf at a disadvantage. If he'd had a true, alive, healthy body, the Gerudo would be able to handle close-encounter melee attacks, but he was a corpse barely forty pounds heavy soaking wet. His strength lay in his magic at this point, not in his muscles.

This close, Ganondorf could not compete and Shade took all the damage. Shade felt it all, enduring as his own strength was sapped away by the bond spell and its need to keep Ganondorf alive. But he couldn't take much more of this. Neither of them could, and Ganondorf _needed_ to survive.

"Old king!" Shade snapped, swinging his hand around to clasp at Ganondorf's, giving him power, and wordlessly the Gerudo gathered it, redirected it, and yelled as he threw everything back. The air cleared around them and the Gerudo slumped down, weakened, and all Shade wanted to do was the same. He could feel the fatigue in his soul, dragging them both down. He was beaten and tired. Ganondorf could not endure more of this, and neither could he.

Ganondorf's eyes widened. "Hero!"

Before Shade could do anything, Ganondorf shot a blast of energy at him, throwing him out of the way of Time's next attack, and weakened as he was he might not have survived. But doing so had left Ganondorf vulnerable once again and the husk took a sword across the chest that Shade felt with every fiber of his being. It was less deadly than what had been turned his way, but weakened as Ganondorf already was, it was only slightly better. But without a doubt, one more strike would kill the old king.

Shade found the strength to throw Time off and far enough away so he could scoop the limp body of the dying king up in an arm and run.

"You bastard," Shade wheezed as he gripped Ganondorf's near lifeless corpse and hauled with all he had, trying desperately to get him out of danger. "You survive ten thousand years and you're wanting to die _now_? We had a deal!"

"I'm only here as long as you are," the Gerudo grunted with an echo of heat that should have been a blaze of a retort but had been reduced to a bare whisper. "And vice versa."

"No,” Shade snapped. “You're tied to _me_. I can get hurt and die, and you'll be fine, for a short while anyway. But if you get hurt, you'll drag me down too. Immediately."

The corpse shifted. "You needed help—"

"Of course I needed help," Shade said as he heard the sound of metal on metal and claws on flesh, recalling with dread a fragment of what was about to happen. "But your life is more important than mine right now. You need to survive long enough to take the Triforce of Power back."

Ganondorf scoffed, affronted even on the cusp of death. "I never asked for a hero—"

"Yes, you did," Shade shot back, turning so his one glowing eye burned into the golden pair still smoldering in Ganondorf's skull. "When you made the deal with me, that was what you were asking for. Me on _your side_. Princesses aren't the only ones who need knights. So do kings. I'm not letting you die. Not yet."

Ganondorf fell silent and Shade couldn't remember another time when he'd rendered the old terror speechless.

"I can't believe you mean it, darling," Ganondorf finally said. Shade rolled his eye.

"I'm going to drop you."

"That's not knightly—"

"Farore give me strength," Shade breathed before he dumped the corpse beside the boulder Princess Zelda was protected by. "Stay here. Don't die. If you need to help, distanced attacks only and wait for your opening." He turned to look at the battlefield, at Sky, Wind, and Wild recovering as Kid and Twilight fought Time head-on with all they had, and were still losing ground. Another flash of insight slipped through his mind, another memory unlodging itself from the mists of time and his heart … cooled. His tone was abruptly quiet. "I think your time is coming soon. No matter what happens, you need to be ready."

He turned to go but suddenly Ganondorf grabbed him, stopping him. His eerie eyes burned.

"What do you know?"

Shade sighed before shaking the Gerudo off and glancing back at the fight he was about to rejoin.

"Enough," Shade finally said before reaching for his sword, readying himself, and plunging back into the fray to fulfill his role in destiny one last time.

* * *

**Twilight**

He's seen what had been happening through Midna's Twilight Mirror. For the last twenty-four hours he had watched the fight develop, watched the battles progress, ebb and flow. Twilight had waited and paced with anxiety and fury as he'd watched Wild's forces advance and face Time's forces with courage and bravery enough that should have turned the tides.

And then he'd watched Time change the terms. He'd watched as Time overwhelmed and advanced.

It had not been an easy wait, and even with Midna there to do what she could to calm him, promising the _moment_ she was able, she would send him forth for as long as it took the Blood Moon to rise, his inner wolf had howled. That world was in danger, he needed to help them however he could – help his father and Kid and all the others however he could – and he was caged in the one place he'd wanted to be more than anything.

The moment the sun had dropped below the horizon, Midna had taken him by the arm, placed the fiercest kiss upon his lips, and commanded him to win the battle and survive.

While his father had shattered the Twilight Mirror that existed in Wild's world, he was not of the Twilight Realm and had only damaged the mirror, not destroyed it. With Midna's power, it recreated itself, allowing him passage. He traveled through shadows with abilities he had only recently come into after passing the Twilight Realm's tests and becoming a Twili himself.

He'd arrived just in time to save Kid and his father, and while all he wanted to do was reconnect, to tell them _everything_ , the battle hadn't paused because he'd arrived. Far from it. Time was brutal. Vicious. Unlike anything or anyone Twilight had ever met before, wholly different from Zant or Ganondorf.

And frankly, as the battle progressed, he realized this was a battle so different from anything he'd ever experienced or might ever experience again. He did not understand entirely what was going on, but it didn't matter. He knew enough to follow the lead of his father and his fellow heroes.

And so he fought.

Twilight was faster than he'd ever been now that he was Twili, and so he went wherever he was needed after dealing with whatever threat needed dealing with. It was a strange experience fighting for the first time like this, gliding through shadows, channeling his inner wolf for its ferocity, fighting less with blades and more with claw and magic. In some ways it was ... liberating and true. Like this was what he'd always meant to be, and his very existence sought to prove it to him. All of this felt _right_. He was so caught up in the fighting that he flowed.

Until, at least, his instincts flashed, and he saw his father was striding back toward Time alone.

Under different circumstances he wouldn't have been bothered, but his father looked weakened and less than he usually was. Others might not have noticed, given his ghoulish appearance, but that was how Twilight had met Shade. This had always been the form he'd known, and Twilight had seen it enough to know what was right.

But the spirit light that slipped from him was weaker and dulled, and he moved slower than he usually did. Twilight couldn't help but turn toward him to offer what aid he could. Anything at all because that was what he did, especially for his family.

Yet while Shade was headed toward Time, Time wasn't waiting around to do direct battle. It seemed for a moment that he'd been tempted, but then the evil knight had turned his eyes elsewhere, across the battlefield where Kid struggled with a monster of his own. He’d only just defeated it and the fight had left the boy vulnerable and alone. Twilight’s chest cooled as his instincts screamed.

Time dashed toward Kid, sword raised, and Twilight reacted so fast he barely had time to blink. In an instant he was across the way, scooping up Kid and sprinting out of range before the sword that would have sunk into his back had sliced past.

"What?" Kid jolted, alarmed, but Twilight didn't have time to respond, not when Time had scowled and was now after them. Twilight danced back, all but throwing Kid on his back and channeled his inner wolf again, letting his form shift just enough so he could bound away on four legs instead of two.

"Why is he after us?" Kid demanded as he held on tight, adapting to the position like he had when he’d been a Deku Scrub, rolling with everything like he always did. "Twilight—?"

"You have something I just remembered belongs to me, don't you Kid?" Time said as he moved through the air with boots that seemed to make him light as a feather, swift and frightening. "I want it back."

"What—?" Kid balked before he held onto Twilight tighter and threw his weight to the side to help Twilight avoid an attack. They rolled as a unit with Twilight swinging back to his feet. But Time blasted the area below him and he stumbled, rolling again, Kid all but flung off his back.

"Twilight!" Shade said from across the field and Twilight's instincts blared again because he was on the ground and vulnerable, but nothing happened, not when a flash of steel intercepted Time's blade. He blinked and saw Kid standing over him, eyes furious and protective as he threw Time off with everything he had.

"No!" the boy shouted. "Not him!"

"So you _do_ know," Time said, a sly smile on his face. "You three were a puzzle, I have to admit, but I figured it out. After all, the other two won't matter at all if you're not around. And you have my ocarina. I thought everyone else was the problem I should be facing, but it all falls apart if I end you. Doesn't it?"

Twilight's brow furrowed. It didn't make sense what he was hearing but it also didn't matter because his instincts were screaming at him that Kid was in trouble. His protective instincts were roaring, _howling_ , but before he could move it was as if something was restraining him, something invisible and solid like the weight of gravity had increased dramatically. It snaked all around him, curled about and made every muscle heavy like stone despite how hard he fought. Kid seemed affected too though his body twitched with will and determination, the tip of his sword wavering.

Time only smirked and shifted closer, hand reaching for Kid, searching about his body. "All this power in such a small form. I remember being like you, perhaps a younger you. Filled with potential. But I suppose at some point our paths diverged and you become nothing but an old, dead thing while I become a king. How the fates have been unkind to you."

"Shut up!" Kid said through clenched teeth. "Get your hands off me!"

"Ah, there it is," Time said finally locating whatever he was searching for, and to Twilight's surprise it was a small instrument. An ocarina. "I must thank you, actually. My Zelda placed a spell upon it. I could not use it and did not think it would ever be played again. After all, it required someone who'd played it before, someone who knew the spells and who wasn't _me._ Even my Zelda couldn’t unseal it. But here? Well, you lifted it all on your own. But of course you did."

Kid snarled, limbs twitching violently, and the will there drove him, inspired Twilight and he could feel himself twitching too. He reached out for the shadows of twilight because that was the path out of the spell. If he could get away, he could reposition himself and swing back and get Kid. It would take a moment, just an instant, but he could do it—

A howl of rage broke him out of his thoughts, and they watched as a blur of gold armor caught Time by surprise as Shade body-slammed himself into Time. The distraction completely freed Twilight, but Time seemed to have gained some sort of second wind from stealing the instrument. He reacted quickly, throwing him off.

"I've had enough of you!" Time snarled before both his hands lifted and filled with deadly lightning. Lightning that sparked on both Shade and Kid. Lightning and energy unlike anything Twilight had sensed yet, filled with lethal intent enough to kill even the dead. "You end now, one way or another!"

"No," Twilight barked, panicking. He was fast through shadows, but not fast enough to save two people from this strike at the same time, and it was coming fast. He wanted to act – needed to act – but who did he save?

"Kid!" Shade roared, the red of his eye blazing above the spirit and bone, somehow intuiting the decision he was struggling to make. "Link, save Kid!"

Twilight was torn. His father was in trouble, but so was Kid. His instincts were screaming at him to save both. He cared about both of them. But his father was his _father_ , and Kid?

What Time said earlier was sticking with him, something about it was nagging at his mind and for the briefest moment everything stopped, and he saw everything. He saw Shade. He saw Kid. But in that moment it was like he was looking at the same person. Like he'd always been looking at the same person, just one was older and one was younger. The same eyes. Same stance. Same will.

Same soul.

Time released the spell and Twilight just ... moved. One moment he was on the ground, the next he had a body in his arms and was streaking toward the other because he was fast enough. He _was_.

The thundercrack in his ears was deafening, and the light was blinding to his darkened, twilight-touched eyes. His hand clenched something solid, something crackling and filled with energy. His heart hammered, his throat tightened, and his eyes burned because he didn't need to look to know that for one of them, he'd failed.

The three of them skidded to a stop, tumbling with clangs of metal and shouts of pain. The world spun. The moon was growing higher still, brighter, red and intense as the red of his father's eye.

"No," Kid breathed once they'd finally stopped. Small hands clenched at him desperately. "Twilight!"

"Are you okay?" Twilight asked, his voice tight and eyes tearing up as he stared at the unharmed Kid and knew what his choice had been in the end. "Kid—"

"Son."

He and Kid flinched and then saw that Shade was with them, but he was not the same as he'd been. Where he'd been strong and stable, now his spirit-flesh was flickering. Where he would always, _always_ , climb to his feet, now he lay limp, overwhelmed by his golden armor. Prone.

His inner wolf whimpered, tail tucking low between his legs. His throat squeezed as he understood what was going on.

Shade was dying.

"No!" he cried, reaching for the great hero's armor. "No, Father!"

"You can't go!" Kid screamed, clenching at Shade as desperately as he was. "No! You're not done yet! You're _never_ done. _We always get up again!"_

"Not ... not this time," Shade whispered and Twilight felt something dying in time with his ancestor. "I don't ... I don't think I ... come back from this." Shade exhaled and the spirit-matter that gave his legs form seemed to slip away, causing his armor to collapse on itself with a clang he could hardly hear. His father's red eye shifted his way. It looked so weak. So tired. Like he was just barely holding on. "I love you. I always have, son."

"You're not going!" Kid exclaimed, hauling on the armor and failing as its weight proved too much for him. "You can't leave him yet! He needs you." The boy's voice hitched before he cried, "I need you!"

"I know you do," Shade said, voice softening. Fading. "And I ... wish I could stay. I wish ... I wish there was more. But there's not. I don't remember—"

"Don't go," Twilight said, tears he couldn’t stop running down his face. "Not like this, please!"

"Everyone leaves, kiddo," Shade sighed before his flickering eye dropped toward Kid where he was similarly falling apart. "Besides, I won't be gone ... yet. Take care of him. Son," his father said with an emotional hitch not unlike Kid's. "Take care of me."

Twilight didn't know what to say or what to think. It was all happening so fast and he felt a sense of deja vu, not once but twice. The first time when Shade faded from existence in his world, the second when his ancestor sent him to the Twilight Realm. He hadn't been able to say much either times, not anything that got to the heart of what he felt for this special person. The man who had turned him into a hero and become his mentor. His father.

He would now.

"I couldn't have done any of this without you, Father," he whispered, taking Shade's gauntleted hand, even if he wasn’t sure if spirit-flesh filled it anymore. "I love you more than I can ever say. Please," Twilight said, voice breaking. "Please go in peace. We’ll take care of everything for you."

"Son," Shade whispered, and Twilight heard every bit of love and care in that one, heartfelt word. The one meant only for him.

"Not yet, not yet," Kid cried, distraught and more lost than Twilight had ever seen the boy. "You can't leave, not yet."

"I remember," Shade whispered so faintly that Twilight wasn't sure Shade could see anything, the red of his eye was almost gone. "Kid ... you ... you have to do it."

"Do what?" Kid demanded furiously, tears welling up in his eyes. "Do _what?_ "

Shade's hold on Twilight's hand relaxed and grew non-existent. The glow of his skin was all but gone, strong enough for one final sigh.

"Stop ... time."

Time seemed to stop for Twilight. Maybe for Kid too. One moment Shade was looking at them with the last of his life. The next – nothing more than a blink's worth of time – and there was nothing there anymore looking back. An ancient skull dropped to the ground clad in ancient golden armor. There was nothing there now, no lingering life. No spirit-flesh. Nothing.

Shade was gone.

Instinct made him move and Twilight shifted through shadows with Kid in his arms without wholly realizing it, moving them someplace safer as a blast of energy whipped through the area they'd been, strong enough to have killed them both if he hadn't been faster.

But the perspective of his father's armor, lifeless, useless, just laying there and gone ... Twilight was in shock. His ancestor – his _father_ – was gone. He was _gone_.

"No," Kid whispered in his arms where the boy stared at the pile of armor just as he did, shocked and broken. Traumatized and pale. "No."

Twilight's heart clenched as he was hit by ... everything. He knew now. Knew why he'd been so drawn to Kid. Why they'd gotten along so well when Kid had never gotten along with Shade. Why Kid had fought harder than _anyone_ , when he was nothing more than a child and why Shade was always hardest on him.

It was because, he realized, they were the same. One person. Shade on one end of a life, and Kid on the other. One dead and old and the other young and alive, somehow both in the same moment in time.

And he'd had to sacrifice one to save the other.

"Father," Twilight said, voice tight as he stared at the still form of bones abandoned on the other side of the field, and he hadn’t known. He hadn’t _known._ He'd had to choose, and he'd chosen Kid, who was also his father, just younger and in pain and—

Unable to stop himself, he held Kid tight, terrified that he might have lost them both. "You're safe," he said, tears streaming down his face as he held the small boy in his arms with everything he had. "You're safe, you're safe. I have you."

Kid clung to Twilight and sobbed.

* * *

**Kid**

Kid was confused, lost, broken, and falling apart because so much of what he'd experienced was just ... too much. He was the Forgotten Hero of Time. The Hero of Termina. The nightmare of Falfiza. Father of Twilight. He was a Deku Scrub, a Goron, a Zora, a god. A time traveler, a world traveler. He was Kid. He would become Shade.

And he'd just watched Shade die. Of everything he could have experienced, he'd just watched _himself_ die.

There was only so much one person could take.

Filled with wrath, Kid took all of his suffering, all of his pain, and he stuffed it as deep inside himself as he could shove it. The sobbing stopped, the tears stopped, and everything got very simple.

He had to protect Twilight. He had to protect the others. He had to defeat Time.

But above all, he had to take back the Ocarina of Time.

His world narrowed beyond the cacophony of emotions inundating him and in that moment, he knew what he had to do. The tears cooled on his cheeks, but it didn't matter – nothing mattered now – nothing except stopping Time from doing this again because he _would_. He absolutely would because Kid would have if he'd messed up bad enough and had the ability to redo it all. He _had._ There was a reason he’d given up his ocarina to his Princess Zelda, and there _must_ be a reason there had been a spell on Time’s ocarina, preventing him from using it.

No matter what, Kid had to stop him from using it, even once. He couldn't even be sure Time hadn't used it before, but it didn't matter now. Stopping him no matter what _did._

In a burst of energy he staggered to his feet, pulling out of Twilight's arms.

"Kid—!" Twilight shouted, but he wasn't listening. The others were going after Time, trying to keep him distracted, trying to slow him down from getting to the princess, but it wouldn't last. There might be enough time for him to get what he needed because he was _done_ being afraid. Too much had happened.

One moment he was sprinting from the son of his future, and the next he was kneeling beside his future corpse, shoving his hands through bones and armor.

"Where is it?" he demanded from the skeleton. "Where is it!"

Of course the pile of bones didn't respond, and he refused to let himself think about digging through _his own corpse_. There wasn't time, not right now and he needed to find it. He needed it because it was all that could change the tide and the moon was too high. Behind him he heard Twilight, caught a flash of glowing blue and heard the shout of anger, of horror at what he was doing but it didn't matter. It _couldn't_ matter.

And then he found it. He didn't even see it, his fingers just _knew_ its familiar shape, and he latched on and ripped it out without pausing. The Fierce Deity Mask stared back at him, powerful and fathomless – he wasn't even sure which was more powerful sometimes, this small mask or pieces of the Triforce.

Kid was about to find out.

"What are you doing?" Twilight demanded, yanking at his shoulder. "Kid, please—!"

"I have to save your life," he said, face twisting with sorrow and pain and all the love he already had for a son he wouldn't see for so, so long. "I have to keep you safe. I can't _let_ Time hurt you." Kid's face hardened and he pulled away from Twilight, lifting the mask into place. "And I won't."

Power flooded through his blood as the mask settled into place, attached itself, melded with him until he couldn't tell where it ended and he began or if there had ever been any sort of distinction at all. Pain joined the power, changing him, giving him height and musculature he did not have, abilities he did not have, weaponry he did not have, all at the price of agony and temptation.

But he'd done this before, five times he'd done this before, and each were marked on his arm in shining lines of scar. But where those five times had been slippery slopes into power and arrogance, this time he felt none of the pull. The power was there and so was the temptation, but where it had been heady now it was little more than spider silk he cut through with ease. Right now, like the first time he'd donned it fighting Majora's Mask, he was himself and powerful, perfectly in control. More so now that he had so much more on the line.

His focus was crystalline and as the transformation completed, he stood tall, towering above the others with his sword raised, a god once again.

There was time enough to see Time's eyes widen with surprise. Then Kid let him have it.

Taking the Ocarina of Time was his primary objective, but if he killed the son of a bitch in the meanwhile? Well, he'd settle for that too. The others instinctively jolted away as he slashed at the fallen Link before letting a borage of lasers shoot out and strike the man relentlessly. For the first time since the fight began, Time was on the defensive, but unlike other times Kid wore the mask, he didn't feel proud or smug about the dominance. He only pressed harder. This man was trying to take over _worlds_ and was content to kill anyone who got in his way, Sky, himself, _his own son_.

Kid was hurt and bitter, and more than anything he wanted to make sure the threat was destroyed.

"I should have killed you first!" Time spat into the air as he managed to stave off the barrage and jump into the air, catching a breath Kid was going to take back. "When I go back, I _will_ kill you first!"

Using the power of his Triforce pieces, Time managed to leap out of the way and stay ahead of the assault, but Kid was quick to follow. The Deity was fighting, was hunting and nothing escaped him, not for long, especially now that he'd heard Time's plan. If he killed Kid, then Twilight wouldn't exist. Shade wouldn't exist. The Hyrule he'd saved would fall to darkness without Twilight and Shade to protect it, and only the Goddesses knew what else might happen from that.

Kid saw Time pull out the Ocarina of Time. He saw him lift it, a gleam of desperate triumph in his eyes. And all Kid thought was _no_.

The Fierce Deity heard.

More energy and power than he'd ever experienced filled him, overwhelmed him, and it was like he was along for a ride rather than in control of what was happening. One moment he was across the battlefield, chasing the rogue Link down. The next his large hand was clenched around Time's, the one that held the ocarina.

Kid and the Deity stared down at Time with cold fury.

"No."

The word echoed through the air and into the ground – into the fabric of space and time all around them. Everything seemed to stop. To listen. It was a level of the mask Kid had never reached before. There was so much power in it. With one word, he'd stopped everything.

Time's Triforce pieces began to glow and he sensed the attack before it came. Before Time could do anything, Kid swung the lost hero hard into the ground, stunning him. He felt Time's fingers release and he lifted the Ocarina of Time away.

"No!" Time shouted, struggling to his feet. "You can't keep it from me! I'll take it back. I'll use it. I'll fix everything! Just like I always do on my world."

Kid stood over the fallen hero and saw the conviction in his eyes, the surety. Time would, and he'd stop at nothing to do it. He'd kill everyone, again and again and again until he got his way.

And that left only one option.

"I believe you," Kid and the Deity admitted.

But instead of attacking Time as he had, he dropped the Ocarina of Time to the ground, turned his sword upon it, and struck down with all the power he had.

Time screamed, startled and horrified, but Kid didn't care. It was a magical object of great power, protected and sacred. He could feel it fighting him with all it had, and a part of him was ashamed at the sin he was committing. Destroying something so powerful and pure.

But doing this protected everyone, and he would never be ashamed of that. This would be the only timeline now, no matter what happened.

Kid pushed harder with the power of a god, and he felt it the moment the ocarina's protective magics failed. He felt the smooth shell of the instrument crack and the power within explode, catching him, Time, and everything and everyone in its backlash.

A finality settled upon him, a certainty he didn't understand and couldn't quite explain.

He spared one final look at Twilight, his heart full of love and care. He wished he'd had more time to spend with him. He wished he hadn't been such an immature jerk and that they'd done more, though he was so _happy_ he’d had time with Twilight at all when they’d explored the Akkala countryside, enjoying themselves though he wished he’d _known_. It would’ve meant more to him. To the both of them. It could have been so much more.

Kid wondered what would happen next, and hoped that, above all, Twilight and the others would be safe, no matter what happened to him. If they were fine, he would be fine. He was sure.

The Ocarina of Time shattered and the wave of power that struck him was the last thing he experienced before he was dragged down, satisfied and proud, into oblivion.

* * *

**Ganondorf**

Ganondorf had not known what the old hero meant when he'd said that the moment would come soon, only that he had not liked the ... finality that had settled in Shade’s tone. This hero was a man of strength and honor. Ganondorf knew for certain Shade did not have a jester’s bone in his body, not now. Not after a lifetime that had done nothing except burn it out.

Still. When he realized what that had meant in the end, he could not help but be ... bothered. He held little love – perhaps no love at all – for this world and its people. In truth, he held no love for anyone, not even the old hero.

But he'd respected the Hero's Shade, and that was as close to love as Ganondorf thought one such as he could reach, especially after such a long life. True, while they'd been more alive, they'd had a good time, neither hesitating to enjoy themselves when they had the opportunity. It was as if they’d sensed this might very well be the last chance they’d have and were both old enough and wise enough to take what they wanted. Yet the old hero had brought something out in him that he'd thought he'd lost. Something he'd been sure had died as the slow sands of time ground him away.

Watching Shade fall to the dark hero's magic to save his younger self – to save his son – had hurt more than he'd thought, and not only because he could feel the pain through the connection they shared. Watching Shade, a titan like he, be killed finally after ten thousand years at the hands of this usurper? Feeling the last of his life slip away, strong enough only to leave him alive for a small while longer, but still leaving him completely and utterly _alone_?

Ganondorf had not felt this level of wrath since perhaps he'd been truly alive all those millennia ago.

But he felt it now. It ate him alive, consumed him as he worked as quickly as he could to regenerate enough to _move_. And he hadn't been the only one affected, not in the least. While he'd been left alone, bereft of a true equal after so long waiting, Shade’s younger self had witnessed his own death. Lived now with that heavy and horrifying knowledge, and that his own son had had to make that choice.

While this boy was not the hero and master he would one day grow into, at the moment before Kid donned the mask of the great and fearsome deity, Ganondorf had seen Shade’s familiar spark of focus. The flash of steel within him that would only be hardened and tempered with time and pain. So much power in one so young. No surprise he supposed that Shade had become as he was.

Though it did nothing now that the hero he knew was nothing but a pile of bones and broken armor.

Still, Ganondorf _did_ know what the old hero meant for him to look out for. How could he not when the wave of brilliant, dazzling power from the destruction of what could only have been a sacred object all but smashed into him, into all of them, leaving everything ... well.

He'd experienced quite a lot in his existence, but never anything like this.

It was as if time itself had grown bothered and confused, for nothing moved as it should. He'd been knocked to the ground, as had Princess Zelda, and while he slowly climbed to his feet, she remained on the ground, completely frozen mid collapse. That strange pull of power urged him to fall back down, fall exactly as he'd just done a moment before, but his will proved stronger. He ignored the urge and moved further from where he'd been.

Several of the others were not so fortunate. Wild and Sky appeared to be reliving the last few moments over and over again, blown back to collide into each other, then into a tree before reappearing at the start of it to collide yet again. Ganondorf could not stop himself from watching this strange and otherworldly replay for a moment, enjoying the show a few times, taking pleasure in the surprise and the pain so clearly captured in the moment.

Little Wind appeared to be slowly descending from the air using a deku leaf, eyes focused ahead and clearly ready to do battle but too slow right now to do anything other than hang in the air. Twilight, on the other hand, was moving faster – their eyes even held for a moment and he knew this strange Twili of a hero could see him and might even understand a little of what was going on. But where Twilight could move faster than Wind, he was still unbearably slow. Ganondorf, on the other hand, was completely unaffected.

The worst however was at the center of the explosion where the shattered remains of whatever had been broken were stuck forever in a moment of breaking, catching with it both the dark hero and the mask-clad Kid. They were hanging in midair, completely thrown back, and this close even Ganondorf was tempted by the pull of broken time to remain stuck right there. To slip back into existence – if that's what it was – and wait out the moment, frozen for all time. The dark hero seemed to have fallen for its pull.

Ganondorf was disgusted and brushed the temptation away as if he'd been brushing off a spider's web. Ten thousand years he'd endured the agonies of time and it seemed as if, in this moment, it was all worth it. That there might even have been a reason because it was so _easy_ to ignore the madness around him. It was only fractured time, and what was that to him?

Ganondorf stared at the would-be ruler of worlds, trapped in time like a plebian, and glowered.

"I can't believe you stole my power," Ganondorf said, the fury in his voice deepening. "And worse, you managed to kill my only friend as well. You don't deserve this. You don't deserve this world, let alone a kingdom. I'd have cared less if you _did_ deserve it, but this? It’s just messy." Ganondorf lifted his hand, focused his mind on the power that had been with him all his life, and reached with his will. "You don't deserve power."

And it seemed the Triforce of Power thought the same because one moment it was on Time's hand and the next it burned once again within him, his sunken hand glowing gold with what was rightfully his.

The power shift seemed to have broken the strange hold over the area, straightening out the flow of time so what was stuck began to move, what moved moved correctly, and while unfortunate, Wild and Sky collided one final time before landing hard on the ground and groaning. Before him Time toppled backward onto the ground, and Ganondorf caught Kid before he fell to the dirt, unconscious and all but dead to the world, but alive and with the mask clenched tight in his hand.

"Always full of surprises, aren't you, hero?" he quietly asked the sleeping boy. Behind him he heard a distinctive growl following rapid footsteps and when he glanced over his shoulder, orange eyes glowed against moon-pale skin with protective fury.

"Put him down!"

"Here," Ganondorf replied instead, holding the sleeping child toward Twilight. "Best keep your young father safe."

Twilight all but snatched the boy away from him before curling him close and dashing away, and that was fine. His equal was not the boy though Kid would one day become him, and really? Ganondorf was concerned with other matters.

Below him Time groaned, then gasped as he glanced at his hand, then at Ganondorf's.

Ganondorf smiled because the Triforce of Power was back where it belonged. Beside him two figures appeared, both blond and in Hylian royal blue. He could feel the others now, all but vibrating as their respective Triforce pieces neared close enough to sense each other. His smile grew wider with fury and power.

And oh, the things Ganondorf would do with it now that he, Zelda, and Link all had a common enemy to face.

* * *

**Time**

It had all been going so well. There was no way he should have lost control of the situation – it should have been impossible because he'd had the Triforce of Power. He'd killed the old hero. He'd all but defeated the others. The final piece of Triforce had been within his grasp, and if it hadn't been, then he'd had the Ocarina of Time to fix it now that the spell his Princess Zelda had placed on it had been lifted.

Never in his wildest dreams had he thought anyone would have the strength to destroy the ocarina, nor that he would be so disoriented and weakened by the resounding explosion and temporal chaos it had caused the entire world to fall into.

But more than that, he had not expected the weakened husk of a monster to be able to find his way through the maze of impossibility and muster the strength of will needed to take the Triforce of Power back.

Time had been so close, _so close_ , to bringing peace to the world – to all worlds – and now he stood before a trio so like his own, but different and wrong, each with a glowing piece of power upon their hands and his defeat in their hearts.

He'd been bested. Yet again, he'd been bested, and this time he did not have an ocarina to reset time so he could try again. He could not take one more step toward success.

Time sighed and lowered his sword. An irritating outcome, but this entire adventure had been spur of the moment to say the least. An option within the span of time and space and if he knew anything, it was that there were always more options. He just had to be patient and cunning. Kid had known how to use the Ocarina of Time, and it stood to reason that across the worlds there would be others. All he had to do was find his way to another and he'd be back on track again.

But first, he needed to leave. And that meant he needed to survive. He needed to bide his time.

Thankfully they were mere minutes from the Blood Moon’s zenith. They'd be swept away then, all to their homeworlds and he'd have time to think and plan then. Time to find another way to get ahold of a Triforce and ocarina. It was still possible so long as he survived.

"There's no point in fighting now," he said, reaching for his kindness and diplomacy. "You've won. You hold the strength to stop me, and all I can do now is admit defeat and ask for mercy—"

The blast of power was so unexpected that for a bright moment, Time wasn't sure what had happened. But the next he was in glowing pain and on his back, gasping for breath and the corpse-monster Ganondorf with his flood of red hair was standing over him, the Triforce of Power glowing on his hand.

"You will receive no mercy," the creature rasped. "I hold the Triforce of Power. I _know_ what you planned, and I know what you intend to do next. You cannot be allowed to live."

A sliver of ice slid down his spine and he reached for his sword. Not good.

"You're lying. Leave me be. I will return to my own world. I won't bother you again. I won't bother any of you again—"

"He's lying!" Twilight snarled, eyes flashing in the red moon, impossible looking and terrifying. Horrible and feral. "I can smell the lie on him. He killed my father. He tried to kill Kid. He tried to kill all of us!"

"And he almost succeeded in killing me," Sky added coolly. "I trusted him, and he betrayed me."

"We can’t risk him reaching another world," Wind said, the boy’s face fixed and determined. "He'd do the same there if he's done it here."

"We can't allow that to happen," Princess Zelda finally said, her Triforce mark glowing. Beside her her champion waited, ready.

"I swear on my life, I will do no such thing," Time lied, lifting his chin. "As one ruler to another—"

"Liar," Ganondorf grunted before he turned to Princess Zelda and her knight. "But if he wishes to prove himself, perhaps, most esteemed princess, he should be judged."

"Whatever you wish," Time said, playing for time. The Blood Moon was high now, so high. He only needed the barest instant of its pull to get away, and none of this would matter.

"We do not have time for a trial," Zelda said firmly, lips pressed thin and eyes hard. "But I believe I am not the authority to judge one of Farore's Chosen. I stand as Nayru's Chosen and keeper of wisdom." She lifted her hand toward him and light, golden and warm gathered there. "Let the Golden Goddesses themselves judge you for your crimes."

He wheeled back but it was too late. Her Link and her Ganondorf had triangulated around him and light burst forth from their pieces as well, and even as he threw himself forward, he knew he was caught. Trapped and boxed in by power he'd almost grasped himself.

"Let me go," he demanded, dread battling with the fire he'd held all his life to succeed and defeat everything that had ever stood in his way or brought him down. "I've surrendered. Show some mercy. You're a princess—"

"Of war," Princess Zelda said, eyes narrowing in the same way his Zelda’s had, once she'd remembered. _Why_ did they always look at him like that? Like he was the monster. "I stand on behalf of the Goddess Hylia, and I have spoken. You will not be tried by me or any here. We are not impartial."

"But the Golden Goddesses?" Ganondorf said, eyes glowing with retaken power. "Make your appeals to them."

Time turned, throwing himself at Wild's corner. "We're the same! You know I wasn't wrong! We're both Farore's Chosen, you know this is wrong!" Wild had to see reason – they _were_ the same. All Links were the same, that's why they had the Mark of the Hero on their hands. He had to see!

But Wild's face hardened. "Ready when you are, Princess."

"You can feel it, can't you?" she asked, brow furrowed in concentration. "Link, stay strong-hearted and maintain the barrier. I will guide. Ganondorf—"

"Trust me," Ganondorf said as the space was abruptly flooded with power. "I'm more than happy to pave the way."

All around him the golden barrier that surrounded Time grew stronger, brighter, thickening from transparent into pure, radiant gold. In moments he couldn't see the eyes of the others watching from beyond. He couldn't see the bright red moon high above. He couldn't see Hyrule. Time couldn't see anything, and suddenly he realized he wasn't standing on solid ground either. There _was_ no ground, just like there was no sky. It was all gold in every direction, and he knew whatever happened now was out of his hands. He wasn't even sure he _was_ on Hyrule anymore.

Time didn't know where he was at all.

"No," he said, throwing himself at the golden walls and being thrown back with equal strength as the light shined brighter, blinding. "No!"

But he couldn't hear himself scream either. It was as if the light had its own sound, one that overwhelmed everything including his voice. He tried to yell, tried to stomp, to pound, to do anything but the gold was everywhere. The gold was everything.

And suddenly, he wasn't alone.

It wasn't that he could see or hear them. Time wasn't even sure he could sense them, but he _knew_ they were there. It was like eyes watching him. Eyes observing him, looking through him into the very depths of his heart and mind and soul, the places he could not hide.

He wanted to scream. He tried to scream. While it was true that he'd been aggressive in his pursuits and there had been casualties of a sense, his intentions had been just and good. He'd wanted to make the world pure and good, and when the opportunity presented itself, he'd wanted to make _all_ worlds pure and good. He could do it. He was strong enough. Under his rule, everyone and everything would be ideal. He'd make it that way. He'd create a world of goodness and purity, where no one suffered, and no one caused suffering.

What was wrong with that? He'd had to and would continue having to make sacrifices because that was the nature of change, but _in the end,_ it would be worth it. A peaceful world was worth it. He would be the king Hyrule needed. He'd be the king all worlds _deserved._ Not a weak-willed, arrogant princess. Not a stupid boar of a man with too much power and not enough brains to lead. And not a simpering knight following orders blindly at the behest of a pretty face. He was more than that. Stronger than that. He was _worthy_. They _had_ to see it. He'd worked too hard, given up too much—

_But it's not about the perfect world,_ a voice said out of the static of energy. _It's about creating a better world from the chaos of change, pain, and strife._

_We see your desires were noble and that you craved peace,_ another voice said, just as beautiful and just as painful. _But the path you took to achieve those goals is at fault. Life is precious – the lives of others are just as important as your own – and you've taken and manipulated them as though they were yours to do with as you pleased._

_Will you change your ways?_ the final voice asked. _You cannot succeed in this dream. As you stand now, you are upon a path of destruction, one which would drag all worlds into a war none will recover from. Tell us. Which rules your heart? Kindness or cruelty? Love or hatred? Are you a hero or are you a destroyer?_

"I am a king!" he roared, finding himself once again as he glowered into the light. "I am a ruler. A uniter. The worlds have all fallen and its people are weak. But I can fix it. I can fix them. I can fix everything!"

Because he could. And he would, if given half a chance.

There was nothing for a long, tense moment and he held his breath.

_We see,_ the voices said all together. _And we believe that of all who have stood before us, you could._

Time's breath left him as he was stunned, overwhelmed. They believed him. The Golden Goddesses _believed he could_.

_But so could the Hero’s Shade_ , they continued. _In his hands, if he’d chosen, the path would have been just. But the path you would choose is one that_ would _corrupt everything we created. And we cannot allow that, fallen hero._

Time blinked. What?

_We are sorry._

Just as quickly as this had all come upon him, it ended, again with a blast of energy.

He wasn't sure how to describe what happened to him, only that afterward he was not himself, not anymore. He was still Time. He was still king of his Hyrule, but he was less now, and weak. He felt ... old. A pale imitation of what he'd been only a heartbeat before. His armor weighed heavy on his body, all of his muscles cried with fatigue and he collapsed to the ground because he just wasn't ... wasn't strong enough anymore.

_Until dawn's first light will you live,_ the voices said, a mere whisper in his ear when they'd once resounded through his entire being. _Find peace, fallen hero._

"Peace?" he yelled, and his voice was dry and hoarse and aged like an old man's. "Fine peace? How am I supposed to find peace when you've taken everything from me—?"

Pain raced through his chest, and Time clenched at his tunic and thought of all the times it had taken him to properly conquer his Hyrule, and wondered if this was what age he would have been, should have been, if he'd lived out every year properly instead of rewinding time in an effort to cheat death and succeed.

He wasn't young anymore, but old and powerless, the mark of the Triforce of Courage gone from his hand. Time was nothing now, dying, and with a handful of hours to live.

His heart ached harder than ever, but it was nothing compared to his rage.

"You've been judged," Princess Zelda said as she and the others lowered their hands, their Triforce pieces cooling from gold to gentle yellow. "As decreed, you have until dawn's first light. I pray you find the peace you've so desperately sought."

"Damn you all," he snarled, fury eating him alive. "A pathetic princess, a weak knight, and a dead thief, that's all you are, and yet _I've_ been judged and found lacking?" Time spat at their feet. "May your Hyrule never know a day of peace so long as it exists!"

Wild's lips pressed thin and Ganondorf watched on, chin lifted and high and Time had thought he'd known hate, _true hate,_ but he'd been wrong because he knew it now. All the fight, all the struggle, and it ended this way. Old and broken at the feet of his enemies, begrudged by the Golden Goddesses themselves.

Alone.

His chest heaved and his heart ached and he tasted blood in his mouth. He could actively _feel_ himself dying. This wasn't how it was supposed to end. He'd struggled all his life to finally, _finally,_ rise above everything. These weren't even _his_ true enemies. If he was going to die, it should have been to them, to the nemeses that he'd spent his life defeating.

He was truly cursed. If only he'd never left the Kokiri Forest. If only he'd never been born.

Surprisingly the pull of the Blood Moon tugged against him, the first of its pulls and if the last thing he did was go back to his home, his world to die in the peace he'd made there, then that was what he would do. There was no saving himself, not now. There were no fairies in his world who would help him, not when they supported Princess Zelda, and his doctors were not powerful enough to stop this.

But at least he'd be home. And as he looked at the others staring back at him, as he thought of _Shade_ and the Goddesses words, he realized one thing.

He might be at the end of his rope, but he wasn’t done yet.

So just as the power of the Triforce consumed him he also let the power of the world sweep him away. The passage this time was painless, but it hardly mattered when everything else was pain to him. When it was all failure after _so long_.

Time was swept away, weak, powerless, and filled with bitter, impotent fury that would never be able to save him but might still, somehow, change everything.

* * *

**Wild**

Wild stood next to Princess Zelda, next to Ganondorf, and watched as the golden light of the Triforce which had filled the area before them, perhaps the entire plateau, faded to reveal nothing but night darkness under the nearly crested Blood Moon. Latent power unlike anything he'd ever experienced before still ran through his veins and filled his body to the brim. He felt perfectly healed and at his peak strength. He felt like he could run clear across Hyrule, from the vast emptiness of the Gerudo desert to the top of Death Mountain. Wild wanted to scream with the energy. He felt like he could do _anything_. Like _they_ could do anything.

After all, they'd defeated Time. He. Zelda. Ganondorf. The three of them together. As the most unlikely team, they'd _done it_. Their world was saved. _All_ worlds were saved.

Wild could hardly believe it. They were the great failures. They were the ones who hadn't succeeded. They – even Ganondorf – had needed extensive help to succeed.

And they had done it.

The power was gone, fading now, leaving them all in a type of quiet he'd never experienced before. His nerves were shot, and he was numb for the moment to everything except this strange new quiet. It was like his world had taken its first real breath in a long, _long_ time.

He sighed, and he heard Princess Zelda do the same. They looked at each other, both so deep in disbelief. He kept waiting for the next shoe to drop. It had to.

All that dropped was Ganondorf.

In the wake of everything, the unexpected collapse of their arch enemy startled him so badly his blade was in his hand and leveled at the corpse's throat just in case. He was taking no chances. He would endure no more surprises, least of all from the beast that had tormented his entire life.

"Relax, Champion," Ganondorf said, words slow and softening with every syllable. "I'm only dying. Nothing to ... get up in arms about."

His eyes flashed to Zelda's, whose tense glance mirrored his exactly. But after everything that had happened, he didn't know what to say. If Ganondorf was finally dying, then good riddance!

But he'd also helped them. If it weren't for Ganondorf's power, the sheer strength of it, then he and Zelda wouldn't have defeated Time like they had. They wouldn't have saved everyone and everything. The Calamity was as much to thank as they were for what had happened.

It was Zelda who found the right words.

"You've been the terror of Hyrule for thousands of years," she said. "You've been the monster we grew up fearing and expecting to fight and defeat. I will not say I forgive you for anything you have done because that is a lie, and I do not. But ... I will thank you for what you have just done with us in keeping this world safe when it needed you."

A raspy chuckle slipped out of the old corpse's throat. "I didn't do it for you."

"Then why did you do it?" Wild couldn't help but ask. If he hadn't had to do it, _why_ had he done it?

"Because," Ganondorf said as the light began to fade from his unnatural eyes. "He'd taken something from me, and this is my world as much as it is yours. If anyone should have taken over, it should have been me. I just made sure no one else would.” Then, surprisingly, his voice quieted. “Not to mention ... I made a deal. I'm honor-bound to uphold it."

Wild wasn't satisfied with the answer and thought it was a bald-faced lie, but it hardly mattered now. In the end they won because Ganondorf was on their side, and that was the reality of the situation.

"Well ... despite your reasoning, Hyrule is safe in part because of you," Zelda continued, clearly as uneasy as he was, but what could they do? He was dying and it was the end. Before their eyes, Ganondorf's body glowed faintly, the edges of him fading away.

"Safe or not, it hardly matters to me. Just try not to let it down again. It would be your fault entirely then, and you'd have no scapegoat to blame." The ancient being sighed, more of him fading. All of him fading. He let his shrunken head drop, darkening eyes falling to the remains of what had once been Shade. With his final breath, he sighed, "Finally."

And then Ganondorf, the great Calamity for millennia, terror of Hyrule and its champions, died, leaving nothing behind but a sigh of relief.

Wild stared at that spot, waiting for something – waiting for anything – but nothing happened, and the reality of what had happened was now setting in. Time was defeated, powerless and gone. Ganondorf had helped them save Hyrule and was also gone. He and Princess Zelda, the peoples of this land and the heroes of other lands had suffered and triumphed and now?

Now the final Blood Moon had risen above a weary and quiet world, and there would be no more revivals. No more threats. What remained would be small and weak compared to everything they'd already overcome. Peace had come at last.

The sword in his hand dropped as he stared at Zelda and the other Links from other worlds and realized with finality that _it was done_. The fighting, the war, the threat to every world was defeated. His world was saved.

It was over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You made it! It was a long chapter, but I hope you enjoyed what it had to offer. There's only a little bit left now, but still, we're not done yet :]
> 
> Next post on Thursday


	24. Goodbye

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! We're getting very close to the end of the story now, just a few more chapters. I hope you enjoy!

**Sky**

Sky could hardly believe it, but it was true. They'd won. It had been a long, trying, terrible month, but here at the end when everything had been on the line, Time was defeated. This foreign Hyrule was safe. The Blood Moon was at its zenith. His Triforce piece, like all the others scattered around him, was glowing, and on the wind he thought he could smell fresh bread with hints of lavender. Endless fields and the soap Zelda liked to use. The scent of home.

At last, _at last_ , he was going _home_.

"Girl!" he called into the air, whistling high and long because he could sense it now. The magic was ready to pull him home, and the last thing he wanted was to accidentally leave his faithful loftwing behind. In an instant she'd landed, the gust she’d created whipping around them all. The sight of her waiting for him made him ache with bittersweet relief. It was time. He was going _home_. To Zelda. To his child. After a month, after nearly dying, after everything, this was it. Sky was ready.

Almost ready.

Before he climbed onto his loftwing and could let the magic take him, he turned and looked at the other heroes gathered, the ones he'd fought with, almost died with. The ones who'd saved and supported him. The ones he hadn't trusted at first but had ultimately conceded to. He’d seen this world and knew its landscape from on high. He let his eyes linger on the Master Sword now held carefully in Wild's hand.

He looked at them with a heart filled with emotions he could scarcely name. They’d gone through so much together, like it or not. And in a way … he loved them like a family he hadn’t realized he’d had. Even Twilight, who cradled the unconscious Kid. Even Shade, Hylia rest his soul.

"We’re leaving,” he finally said as they all watched him, knowing this would be it. “I can't thank all of you enough. I didn't want to be here. I didn't want to fight this fight when I had so much on the line. But it was because of all of you that I made it through. That I’m alive and going home to my family to hopefully live a long, happy life. I'm sorry for my behavior and attitude this last month. I'm sorry for fighting and being so desperate I believed a lie that almost put us all in danger. You're heroes, all of you, and if you are all truly my descendants?"

Sky couldn't help but smile brightly.

"I have so much hope for the future."

Wind smiled and Wild nodded with Zelda who lifted her head and watched him with the kindest eyes. He looked at the otherworldly Twilight who he'd had the most problems with as he carried the sleeping Kid, and he thought of the old hero that had saved them and knew he'd been wrong about Shade back in the Korok Forest. He met all of their eyes and his heart filled with warmth.

Sky found himself relieved. He climbed aboard his loftwing, but then looked to Wild.

"Take care of the Master Sword. Let her rest in the most peaceful of times."

"As peaceful as I can make them," Wild promised.

A part of him thought he should take more time leaving, but really? He couldn’t make himself wait any longer. He wanted to go. He needed to go _now_ , and he wouldn’t be ashamed of his haste or being the first to leave. He'd done what he'd been summoned to do. He'd learned more about himself and the future than he ever thought he'd know.

And all he wanted now that the call had been answered, more than anything, was to return home.

"Goodbye," he called to them, straightening on his loftwing as he felt the magic’s pull and submitted to it. Giving in. Glowing silvery-green light encompassed him and his flying steed, and he smiled, elation making him light. "And thank you!"

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Princess Zelda lift her hand. A pulse of pure power enveloped him, and like a blessing, he was gone.

* * *

**Wind**

Seeing Sky leave triggered something in Wind, and while he’d known the Blood Moon was high and the pull of magic tugged at his fingers like it was waiting to lead him away, seeing the other hero leave made him realize _it was time._ It was all so sudden, the days of fighting, Shade dying, Ganondorf, Wild, and Zelda defeating Time, and now this it almost didn’t make sense that it was time to leave.

But it was. It absolutely was.

And Wind knew, deep in his heart, that although it was so sudden and he might have wanted more time to say goodbye, it was time. It was time for him to go.

He had to do one thing before he left, though.

Turning quickly, Wind dashed to Wild before throwing his arms around his waist, holding him tightly. The older hero startled, but Wind didn’t care. He just held on tighter.

"You’ve been my best friend here, Wild," Wind said. "I was afraid when I got here, but you made me feel better. You helped me remember what it was like to be confident and a hero, and I hope that you and Zelda will finally be able to stop fighting."

"Wind," Wild said, his voice cracking as he dropped to a knee and pulled the boy into a hug of his own, and Wind only smiled and hugged back before letting go and grinning at those that remained. Never in his life had he thought there were others like him except in legends and stories, but he'd met them. These heroes were real and incredible, and he couldn't believe that once again, he'd helped save a world.

And he'd done it with them. Pride swelled in his chest.

His hand began to glow stronger and he got teary-eyed as bittersweet emotion hit him hard.

"I can't wait to go back," Wind said before his voice wobbled. "But isn't it funny? I kind of want to stay a little longer, you know? I'm going to miss you all."

"I'll miss you too, Wind," Wild said, holding his eyes like looking away was the last thing he wanted to do. "Go on adventures on your Great Sea. Travel everywhere. See everything. May the winds favor you no matter where you go."

"You have the bravest heart of us all. And the truest," Twilight said in that otherworldly voice from a strange body that Wind still wasn't used to and couldn't quite believe. The changed hero looked at Kid before adding softly, “I’m sure he and my father would say the same.”

"May all the blessings of Hylia be upon you, Wind," Zelda said with a smile. "We could not have done this without you."

"I couldn't have done this without you," Wild added earnestly, a tender smile on his lips. "Wind, from the bottom of my heart, thank you."

"That's what friends are for. If you ever need me again, I'll be there," Wind said before he grinned. The light around him glowed brighter. Brighter than the Blood Moon above. He was going now, and somehow, someway, he could already hear the crash of waves and the caw of gulls from his Great Sea as if it called to him. Welcomed him home. "But ... I hope you won't ever need to."

The wind filled his ears and the salty tang of the ocean filled his nose and flooded him with nostalgia so strongly he hadn't realized he'd closed his eyes against this strange, incredible, amazing world. Wind thought of his home, of the life he would live, and he made his choice. A choice he made for himself.

His heart reached out to the rightness of his world and the adventures it would bring, and the magic took him with it.

* * *

**Twilight**

Midna's magic was ending in time with this world's Zelda's, and while he knew it would be the last time he returned to a Hyrule perhaps in all the life he had remaining, he found he did not mind that this would be it. So much had happened, and truly he was not entirely used to it yet – the changes he had made in his life. They were so new and sudden.

But they were right. And he did not regret it. Now that this final fight was over, he could at last go to his true home free of responsibility and duty. To the princess he'd sworn himself and his life too.

He only wished these final goodbyes weren't so bittersweet.

It was true, he'd never been close to Sky, and definitely not to Wild, but watching Wind go with the biggest smile on his face had made Twilight excited for the next phase of his own life. He was ready to go.

But that meant that all that was left was Kid.

The boy glowed faintly in his arms, the spell that had brought them all here quietly enveloping him in his unconsciousness. He slept so peacefully. Twilight had never seen anyone sleep like this. Vulnerable. Open. Trusting.

He swallowed and realized he did not want to let the boy – this child who would one day become Shade, his mentor, his _father_ – go.

“Twilight?” Wild asked curiously since he and Kid were the last to leave, but Twilight ignored him for the time being. His focus rested entirely on this boy he loved so much.

“Kid,” he called, trying to rouse the boy because he just … this was the last time. It would be _the last time_ he ever saw him. There was so much he wanted to say. _So much_ he hadn’t been able to tell his father before he died. And even now there wasn’t time to say it, and Kid wouldn’t fully understand. Not yet.

But if he could only tell the boy this one thing, it would be enough for him.

“Kid,” he called again, willing with all his heart, knowing it might not work and yet praying to all the gods and goddesses above that if it was the last thing he did in a world of light, he’d never ask for anything else. “Father, wake up.”

Kid moaned slightly, curling closer into Twilight but also away from his voice like it was bothering his sleep. Twilight couldn’t help a small, bittersweet smile as he sighed and looked on tenderly. He hoped the boy was awake enough to hear. That his words would reach him, somehow, someway because Kid was going, and so was he. The pull of the Twilight Realm was tugging at his bones and he longed to give in. But not quite yet.

“I wish we had known from the beginning,” Twilight admitted. "We could have made so many more memories, though I am grateful now for the ones we did make. I got to see a side of you I never knew existed before, one that was young and engaging and carefree.” His heart ached as he nuzzled the boy’s brow. “I wish we could’ve had more time."

The scent of Kid made his eyes water because he realized he could scent Shade there on his skin, deep down. He thought about his father and everything he wished he could have said to the old knight. He wondered what, if they’d been given real time, Shade would have said to him.

But then, maybe he’d always said exactly what he’d meant. There was no doubt in Twilight’s heart that the old warrior loved him. That this sleeping boy, in such a short amount of time, had come to love him just as much. It was in every one of their actions. Their decisions. Both had fought tooth and nail for him. Sacrificed everything _for him._

And it struck him that maybe, just maybe, Shade had waited all this time – thousands and thousands of years – just to do this. To save him. To help him. To see him _one last time._

Tears rained from Twilight’s eyes as he curled the boy tighter against him, even as silver and green light curled around Kid.

“Thank you,” he sobbed quietly into Kid’s hair. “Thank you for _everything_ you have done, and everything you _will_ do. Thank you for loving me _so much._ And please,” he begged. “ _Please_ know that I love you the same, and that I will be waiting for you in your future.”

Kid shifted and he caught a bleary, semi-conscious blue gaze with his own for one brief instant. One last moment to connect.

With a look, Twilight showed him _everything_.

And then the warm weight he’d carried in his arms was swept away, leaving him empty-handed, broken-hearted, and wishing his young father all the happiness the world could offer – even knowing what lay in his future. And he wished the older version of his father peace in the afterlife. There was no one who deserved it more.

He was the last to leave, and he heard Wild and Princess Zelda shift behind him while the moon blazed a brilliant final red. The Blood Moon was ending. Midna’s spell now sang arias to him as the Mirror of Twilight manifested before him, calling him back, and with nothing to stop him, he could go. Be with her and his land and his true people as he was meant to be. He sucked in a steadying breath as he wiped his face clear of tears, even if his heart ached tenderly. Relaxed, knowing that … it was over.

He sighed and closed his eyes. Breathed. It was time.

“I know, here at the end, that we did not get along,” Twilight said to Wild. “But despite everything that happened between us … I am glad your world is safe.” He turned to face the native Link and Zelda of this world and gave them a wolfish grin. “Please, don’t let anything change that.”

“You have our most solemn oath,” Princess Zelda swore. To Twilight’s surprise, Wild smirked.

“Yeah. The last thing we want is all of you back again.” His smirk widened slightly into a smile. “You might really kill me then.”

“If my princess doesn’t first,” Twilight said, letting thoughts of his beloved Midna buoy him through his grief at letting Kid and Shade go. He smiled before turning to the mirror. “I wish you both all the luck in the world. Goddesses know you’ve earned it.”

If they meant to say something more, he didn’t know and frankly couldn’t be bothered to stay a moment longer to care. The Mirror of Twilight glowed for him, welcomed him, and on the other side he could see his Twilight Princess waiting. He didn’t hesitate. He smiled at her, ready for the true start of his new life as he stepped forward and was swept back into the land of twilight, his home at last.

* * *

**Wild**

Wild watched as the red glow of the Blood Moon passed its crest for the final time in his Hyrule's history he prayed, and as it did ... the sky lightened. The moon turned healthy and pale. The world around him seemed to still and quiet for the briefest moments, as if it had been holding its breath before letting it out. The sound of the world, _his world_ , returned like a symphony. Crickets. Frogs. Wolves in the distance. The wind and water. The cheering from further below as the darkness that had lingered for _so long_ upon the land, finally, _truly,_ was gone.

Peace. This was the sound of peace.

He and Princess Zelda stood together overlooking a land liberated. A land of peace. A land they'd given _everything_ for.

"It's ... over," Wild suddenly said before he looked at the princess who he knew was looking at him with the same wary hope. "It's really over ... isn't it?"

"Yes," she said, but he could barely hear the word with how soft and desperate it had been said. Tears welled up in her blue eyes and she covered her mouth with a hand as her features shattered. "Yes, Link, it's over!"

If anyone else had said it, he wouldn’t have believed because it had happened too many times now. Where he'd gotten his hopes up, fought so hard only to have destiny and failure thrown into their faces yet again. But she said it. Princess Zelda, she’d _said it_ , and she was crying, _sobbing_ with relief, and he couldn't do anything except believe her. That this time, there was nothing else they had to fight. That there was no Calamity, no Ganondorf, and no dark king wearing a version of his face.

All that rested before them was a land of peace. Broken and wounded and on the edge of life, that was true, but also one that could heal and recover with care and time.

One that at last was allowed to heal.

Emotions welled up in him, emotions from over one hundred and seventeen years. Suddenly his throat tightened and his eyes burned and tears flowed down his cheeks. Silently he offered her his hand and she took it and held it tight as she continued to cry with relief beside him.

Above the moon was bright and clear, pure and white like a new beginning.

And he could only be thankful for it. And thankful to the heroes who had helped him finally make it a reality.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter on Monday :]


	25. Endings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's see how everyone's doing now that they're back where they all belong.
> 
> Enjoy!

**Wind**

Wind burst through the front door of his home on Outset Island. It was a dream. It _had_ to be a dream. They hadn’t beaten Time, they hadn’t teamed up with Ganondorf, they hadn’t saved the world, he hadn’t come _home_.

But it was all in front of him, around him exactly like he’d left it after the spell had ended. Right now his grandma was looking at him and smiling as if he hadn’t been gone a month, but only a few hours. Food was on the pot, his favorite stew ready and waiting for dinner. It was like he’d never gone.

He had though. There was no way he could’ve made up any of that, let alone know what he knew about himself and what he wanted. It had been real.

And looking at his old, sweet grandma made his heart ache.

“Oh, my dear, what’s with that face?” she said as if sensing his chaotic emotions. “Come here.”

Wind obeyed immediately, dropping his bag to the ground by the door only to run and sweep her into his arms, holding her against him as tightly as he dared. Her arms curled around his shoulders and she smelled like every good thing in the world.

“Grandma,” he said, unable to look her in the eyes as he said this. He didn’t think he could bear it to see her broken heart. “I … Tetra asked me to come with her on an adventure, and I know I just came back but I … I think I want to go.” He clenched his eyes tight. “I’m so sorry!”

Old, weathered hands gently pulled him back, and this time he forced himself to meet her gaze. He was prepared for the look of sadness and pain he’d imagined since he’d made his choice. The disappointment.

But it wasn’t what he saw.

His grandmother smiled at him, her old face beautiful and normal and everything he loved about home.

“Of course you should go,” she said, taking his hands. “My boy, it’s only natural.”

“But I finally came home. I wanted a normal life,” Wind insisted, both guilty and hopeful. The truth he’d been sitting on for so long, along with all of his concerns, spilled out. “I don’t have to be a hero anymore.”

Gently she pulled him into a chair beside her, never taking her old eyes off his. “It’s true, you don’t have to be a hero anymore. You’ve worn the green of the hero, and you saved your sister. You saved the world when no one else possibly could. But Link, my dear child, don’t you see?”

He frowned but waited.

“Your time as a hero, it made you grow up, and whether you liked it or not, it changed you. I think for the better.” She patted the back of his hand gently. “It’s okay to want to go off on your own now that you’ve tasted the world and grown into it. I want you to. Become something new. Something _you_ want, now that you don’t have to save the seas. It’s okay.”

“But I wanted to be normal, Grandma,” he insisted, even as his heart raced. “I really did.”

“I know.” Her hand lifted to his cheek. “And if that’s what you want one day, you can still do that. You can always come back home to me and Aryll and our little island. It will be here. But so long as your heart still sings for more, let it sing. Follow it.”

And just like that, his concerns, his fears, his despairs fell away and all he could do was get teary-eyed at the grandma he loved _so much_ for understanding his choice and what he wanted with his life. After everything that he’d endured and learned, this was right, and although the future was unknown and might be the most dangerous thing he’d ever do, he was so grateful for the chance. For finding it within himself to _take_ that chance. He _had_ grown, and he would keep growing every single day. He would have more adventures and he would have to make tough choices, but he could do it now.

And it was thanks to them. To Wild, and Shade and all of the family he had in other worlds.

“Now,” his grandma said, patting his hand again. “It’s dinner time, and I’ve made your favorite. Go call your sister.”

Wind wiped at his eyes and kissed his grandma’s cheek. With a heart open and ready for the world, he went off to find Aryll before he called Tetra to come and pick him up.

Just, after dinner.

* * *

**Sky**

Sky was out of breath by the time he made it up the hill to his familiar house with its familiar lights and familiar smells. His loftwing was lingering at the barn preening her feathers. Not a thing was out of place, but he didn't trust it. Couldn't bring himself to trust it.

He burst through the door and immediately spotted his wife on the seat.

"Link?" she asked, sitting upright, eyes wide. "What happened? I felt magic a few moments ago, and when I called for you, you weren’t there—"

The sound of her voice broke him. Smiling, he dropped down before her and took her hands between his before kissing and holding them tight.

"I love you," he said, telling her the thing he'd most wanted to say since he'd been whisked away. "I love you so much, and I’m so _glad_ to see you."

"Oh, my love," she said as she pulled him into her arms. She was warm and solid against him, the same as when he’d left.

"I was pulled away to another world and asked to save it. Me and other heroes like me.” His throat tightened as he thought of everything he’d done. Everything he’d survived and endured. “I did everything I could to come back to you.” He lifted his gaze to hold hers so she could see the truth of every word. “So I could come back to the both of you.”

“I believe you, Link,” she said, stroking his face. Tracing the bags under his eyes that must still be there from the long fight. Soon she would see the scar on his chest, the one that hadn’t been there when he’d left, and he’d have to tell her the story of it too.

But for now, it didn’t matter. He was here, and for the first time in a month he felt the anger, the despair, the fear and horror that had filled him ease away. He was home now. _Finally._ Back with his family, just as he’d worked so hard to be. Sky felt like himself again. Sure and strong.

And he knew he wouldn’t be if it hadn’t been for the other Links. The ones that had stood by him, saved him, helped him.

“I’m so glad to be home,” he said as he settled in the seat beside her, never letting her hands go. “With my family.”

She pulled him into a kiss, and he melted into it willfully, and as she pulled away, he silently vowed he would never leave again so long as he could help it. Hoped that all worlds remained peaceful and calm so no hero would _ever_ have to endure what they had.

So they could all, finally, have the lives they wanted to live.

* * *

**Twilight**

Twilight breathed deep, orange eyes closed against the gentle shadows that curled around him. He could feel it so well now. So strongly. The dark, beautiful power of this world. Of shadows and twilight and the matte comfort of the peaceful world. It was so tranquil here. He remembered Midna long ago telling him of her beautiful world. Now he knew it himself. It was his world too.

He adored it.

His eyes slipped open, flashes of brilliant orange that gleamed as he caught sight of someone he loved more. Her hand brushed along his shadow-black shoulders, over dark clothing accented with glowing turquoise and hints of eye-catching orange. Twilight took Midna's hand and gently kissed the back of it.

"My princess."

Midna smiled at him.

"My knight," she said, her hand slipping from his hold to tip his chin up. "My love."

Twilight adored the way she owned him with every word, and the way she kissed him with just as much ownership and desire. Everything they had was everything he'd ever wanted, and although he'd had to leave his life in the world of light behind, to step away from the world he knew, he didn’t regret it, not in the slightest. This was his world. His home. His life. His princess.

Twilight hoped the others were as happy as he was. He prayed with all his heart that his father, the man who had understood Twilight at his core, was finally at peace. He hoped the boy who would become that powerful titan was strong and well. Happy and alive, living for the future. A future when they would eventually meet again.

When he and Midna pulled apart, he smiled at her, enjoyed the way her hands trailed down his chest with a clear hint of interest, even if now wasn't the time.

"It's time to hold court," she said, the edge of her lips pulling up as she took his arm, her body warm and curvy and _there_ beside him. "Escort me?"

Unable to stop himself, he nuzzled the side of her head tenderly, heart at peace. Home at last. "Always."

* * *

**Kid**

Rain dropped on Kid's cheek, but it was only when he felt a strange, whiskered face huff a breath into his that he finally came fully awake.

"Epona?" he groaned, sitting up slightly and hissing as his head was lanced with sharp pain. He brought a hand to his brow to steady himself, resisting the urge to curl tighter as he closed his eyes and endured. Why did his head hurt? And when had it started to rain?

His horse whinnied, then nudged further down to get to the pack he was laying on, nipping at the pocket that always had a fresh apple in it just for her. He sighed, slowly peeling his eyes open, and when the pain didn’t worsen, he smiled slightly and pulled it out, giving it to her. Epona munched happily, and now that his eyes were open the pain was receding, thankfully.

Carefully he looked around at the lean-to. The rain. His horse and his tiny campsite, grounding himself even when he felt … strange. Like this wasn’t quite right. Like he’d been doing something else.

But this was what he last remembered.

"I ... I think I had a really weird dream," Kid told Epona after she’d finished the apple and nudged his shoulder. He stroked her face, thinking back on the strange flashes of memory that kept whispering past his mind’s eye before vanishing. The persistent, weighted sense of experience he couldn’t quite recall. "I'm not sure I remember much, except that it was _weird_." A grin suddenly blossomed on his lips. "And dangerous!"

Epona’s ears flicked and Kid was so moved by the simple life of Epona that a swell of longing – a sense that he’d missed her _dearly_ – abruptly overwhelmed him and he threw his arms around her, holding her tight. He didn't know why it felt so good to hold her like this. He did this every day, after all. But right now it felt like he'd been gone a long time, and he'd _missed_ her. Maybe it was just the dream, but his heart ached with pure happiness for his one constant companion.

"That's my girl," he breathed into her neck. Drops of rain were slipping over the edge of his lean-to and he scowled as they dripped down below his collar. "When it's morning, we're going to get out of this rain. How does that sound?"

She huffed another breath at him, and he chuckled at her before leaning against her warm side. The rain surrounded him with ambient sound and all the while his mind kept drawing back toward the dream. It was so strange.

Yawning he stretched his arm, then paused as he saw the five thick scars on the back there. Something nudged at him, but as he waited, it didn't reveal itself. He waited for the thick self-hatred that always came when he looked at them, but what he felt this time was different.

Oddly enough, his heart didn't twinge so badly. He was still guilty, still cautious of what they meant, and why. But he ... he didn't find he hated himself. Not as much. It was like a weight had been lifted from him, and abruptly a memory slid to the front of his mind, clear and vivid. Pure enough to make his eyes suddenly fill with tears as his heart ached with confusing love and pride. Orange eyes and hair against moonlight-pale and shadow-dark skin. Vivid turquoise tattoos.

The tenderest love Kid had ever seen, bittersweet and real meant entirely for him.

He didn’t know who this person was – he was unlike anyone he’d ever seen before – he wasn’t even sure he was real. But even if it was something he’d imagined, he’d never felt so _strongly_ about someone before. About … anyone.

Like family.

A smile crossed his lips even as tears poured from his eyes, and it was all a dream, it didn’t make sense, but he still basked in the memory of the nameless person and held it so tenderly deep in his heart. He didn’t know who it was or even if they were real, but whoever it was he knew one thing.

He hoped, with all his heart, that they were happy. And that one day he might see them again.

* * *

**Shade**

Peace settled about Shade as he drifted closer and closer toward the true end. Finally. It had been so long, and after everything that had happened, there had been a moment when he'd despaired that he'd never have it. But it was here now. The velvety darkness of death was ready to take him. He could _finally_ move on.

To his surprise, he wasn't alone.

"You came," Shade said, eyeing the Gerudo who was standing beside him. There were no bodies here, just like he had no eye with which to see Ganondorf, but he knew Din's Chosen all the same.

"And you waited," Ganondorf replied, a hint of amusement tinging his words. "What? Did you want to make sure I went with you, given our deal? Ensure that I wasn’t lingering to further terrorize a liberated world just ripe for the taking?”

Shade snorted. “Hardly. You don’t care about that. Not anymore.”

Ganondorf snorted back. “I was tempted briefly. It would have been easy.”

“But it wouldn’t have pulled me back.”

“Which is why the temptation faded rapidly,” the Gerudo replied. “But at long last we’re here, and I believe it's time to go, hero. To rest.” He sighed. “At least for a while."

Shade neared Ganondorf, and for a moment he wished he still had a hand with which to touch. One final caress of sun-warmed skin, and soft, wild hair.

"Do you believe we did it?" Shade asked quietly. "That somehow we've changed the cycle?"

"I think we've changed a lot of things," Ganondorf replied. His voice went tender at the end. "So ... perhaps. One can hope."

"Two can hope," Shade said. "And I imagine Zelda will be relieved to put an end to this fight between us. I know I will be."

"It wasn't all bad."

"A great deal of it was."

"The last bit wasn't, darling."

Weary as he was, Shade felt his spirit lighten.

"No," he agreed. "I suppose it wasn't."

And with nothing more to say, at long last, together they faded away into nothing.

* * *

**Wild**

Wild gazed out across the kingdoms of Hyrule, unable to believe it. It didn't matter that it had been over a year since ... since then, but it had been. A year of light. A year of peace. A year of restoration and cooperation between all of Hyrule's people.

A year since he'd become the true Hero of Hyrule.

"Rupee for your thoughts?"

Princess Zelda stood beside him, and he had no idea when she'd arrived there. Some Captain of the Guard he was, but even so, he smiled.

"I'm still amazed this is real. We _did_ it."

"I understand what you mean," the princess confided, her eyes softening and the short locks of her hair fluttering in the wind. "After so long, Hyrule is safe. My power awoke. You survived. We summoned other heroes and together we vanquished a threat larger than anything we'd ever imagined. We – and I still can't believe this, even now – were a team with Ganondorf of all people." She shook her head. "Of all people."

"Do you think they're all right?" Link mused as he leaned against the stone walkway. Light played with his hair, turning it brilliant gold. "The others?"

"I don't know," she replied before giving him a small smile. "But I doubt that, wherever they are and whatever they're doing, they would want me to summon them back to find out."

The sheer thought of it, of little Wind's anger, of Kid and Twilight's fury, of Sky's rage at _any_ of them being summoned back was so funny that he couldn't contain his laughter. It burst out of him. They'd all left as friends more or less, but any one of them would probably kill him for pulling them from their homeworlds a second time, even to catch up.

"I think you're right," he agreed after he'd calmed down, his cheeks aching from smiling so much. "I hope they're happy."

"I believe they are," the princess said, leaning against the stone next to him, royal decorum be damned as she liked to say more and more these days. "I dream of others like me, sometimes. I see some of the heroes there." She looked at him and smiled. "They seem happy to me. Embracing their lives.”

Wild smiled at the thought. It was a lesson to them all. Time to move on. To grow. To become something new and help bring about a thriving world.

Wild straightened, adjusting his outfit before facing his princess. "I guess it's time, isn't it?"

Princess Zelda smiled, standing tall herself. "The celebration can't begin without either Hyrule's Princess or Hero." Below them in the great hall, the peoples of Hyrule gathered, filled with life and unending hope and possibility. They were waiting for them. He couldn't wait to be there.

"Well," Link said brightly, excited for the future. "Let's go."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're not quite done yet! Now that the whole Breath of the Wild world is fully saved, I always thought it would be fun to find out what actually happened to my Imposter Link, Time, and how he became who and what he was. So we've got one final story, and then the epilogue, and then that'll be it for the Convergence. I hope you're excited!
> 
> Next post on Thursday


	26. The Tale of the Fallen Hero of Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah yes, my Imposter Link chapter. I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Oh, and there is a bit of a trigger warning with this chapter for violence against a child (only alluded to, nothing graphic, but it's there)

In the land of Hyrule, a Hylian infant was left in the care of the Great Deku Tree.

The Great Deku Tree prophesied that this child would one day become a great hero, called forth by fate to save their land and the people of it. The child's father had been a good knight but had died in the civil war, and the child's mother breathed her last breath deep in the Kokiri Forest after begging for her son's safety. The boy had no one save the Kokiri themselves, and without judgment had been raised as one of them, to _be_ one of them until the day came he left to fulfill his destiny.

For eight years, the Great Deku Tree kept his word and the boy was safe.

Then, during a night of curiosity and loneliness, that boy managed to sneak away from the Kokiri without anyone being the wiser.

* * *

The boy wondered the Kokiri Forest, lost and hungry and alone for a long time until it wasn't forest at all, but a path. He took it despite not knowing where it went or what it was for, only that a path always led to a Kokiri and a Kokiri would help him find food.

He was small then, smaller than he might be meeting a princess and preparing to face a thief, and he was defenseless without a shield and sword to protect himself, or the careless guile and solid selfishness that came with a proper child's upbringing. He was still young, listening to his elders and the other Kokiri as he'd been taught to while he ached for a fairy companion of his own. Craving to belong.

Time wandered for a while, deeper and deeper into a forest he didn't know, looking for a fairy or a real friend he wasn't sure he'd ever find, though he refused to believe he wouldn't find them. But the longer he walked, the hungrier he got, the more tired he became. He thought about going back but couldn't find the way. He wouldn't cry though, he didn't like it when the other Kokiri teased him about that.

Instead he sat and waited at the base of a tree in a clearing as the moon started to rise. His eyes were heavy. He wanted to sleep.

When he was older, Time didn't like to think about what happened next. About the light of fire, warm and bright in the darkness, and the flash of hope that had filled him. The big Hylians, bigger than he'd ever seen. Men. How they'd grabbed him. Shoved him. Sneered with a sour smell in their mouths before beating him viciously and laughing as he screamed in pain.

Then they left him alone, and he wondered and half-hoped that he might die.

The Kokiri found him later, where he was huddled and scared and hurt and confused and so very, very afraid in the hollow of a tree. He saw the way they looked at him when they saw the extent of his injuries, concerned and hiding their own horror.

Carefully they brought him back to the Great Deku Tree, and there they gave him a potion to heal his body. They took care of him, and the Great Deku Tree was more careful about what Time did and where he went. The others stayed with him, helped him recover.

But he never forgot that night.

* * *

He left the forest again a few years later, nervous but better prepared, staying deeper in the woods and out of sight of the main road, though it didn't matter because there was no one there to meet. He had a fairy companion now, at long last, and at the Great Deku Tree's command, he went to Castle Town.

He saw an angel there and found out her name was Zelda. Princess Zelda.

Time knew at that moment he'd do anything for her, and when she begged him to help her, it only made sense that he should. His time in the Kokiri Forest was all to prepare him for this, after all. So he found the jewels and opened the path and received the Master Sword and the Ocarina of Time.

The tiny instrument changed his life. He just hadn’t realized how much at the time.

Truthfully, when he was older, he'd marveled that he’d saved Hyrule the first time because he’d been nothing more than a child in an adult's body, a child expected to fight and defeat evil when he knew very little about anything. He had merely wished to save Zelda and had reacted to that desire. He'd almost died many times, he recalled. It was a miracle he'd survived at all.

In his adult body, he saw and had done _so much_.

His assault the few years earlier had made him wary of the world and he found he was fond of his adult body because _no one_ could harm him again. He was a force to be reckoned with as an adult, powerful and strong. He had a sword to stop anyone from hurting him this time. He wasn't weak. He wasn't vulnerable.

He defeated what should have been a god in a man's body. He saved Hyrule. He saved a _princess_. Everyone knew what he had done. He wasn't that little boy from a few years ago, but a man – the man who'd saved _everyone._ His life was right now. No one could take that from him.

Princess Zelda took it all away when she sent him back in time to be a child again. To ‘live his life'.

For a moment after he was in his proper, younger body he could hardly believe it. Live his life? He'd had the life he'd wanted then, a _great one_. But it was gone now, lost in the sands of time and she'd kept the Ocarina of Time, stranding him in his ten-year-old body when he'd killed monsters, defeated kings, saved a land and all its people, and all for her.

_All for her_.

Life after that had been worse than it had ever been, maybe worse than his assault in its own way. He remembered an entire life that had never happened. He'd had relationships with people who now looked at him like some street urchin and the Kokiri would not let him return home. He'd made the mistake of telling Zelda about Ganondorf and what he would do, and so the Gerudo was imprisoned and the war he'd been made for never came.

No one knew who he was. No one knew what he'd done. He was lost and alone – Navi had even left him. He'd tried to speak with the princess, to find a place by her side, but she was frequently busy and could do little more than set him up in an orphanage with a promise she'd get him into the Royal Guard when he was older. That, one day, he would be a knight once more.

But he'd already been a knight, and the Triforce of Courage was still embedded in his hand. That meant something, it had to _mean_ something.

Despite that, no one took him seriously and the years it took him to become 'old enough' were as horrible as they were educational. He learned a great deal about Hylians and their nature when their world wasn't ruled by terror. He met people, many bad, some not so great. But he also met a few that shown with true goodness, like Malon at Lon Lon Ranch. Oh, how he'd sneak out of the city every chance he could to visit the ranch. To visit _her_.

The years passed and he eventually left Castle Town and Princess Zelda's offer of knighthood once he was old enough. He became a farmhand at Lon Lon Ranch full-time, and he found a home there with Talon and Malon, a family. They might not have known anything about what he'd done and who he really was, but like that, with them, doing honest work under a beautiful sky with horses and cattle and cuccos ... it had been a nice life. A good life. One he’d have been happy to die with.

When they'd been old enough, he'd proposed to Malon, because _she_ had been the true blessing of his life. Calm. Gentle. Spunky and honest. Beautiful and peaceful. They'd been in love, so _deeply_ in love, and when he was around her he couldn't remember all the terrible things that happened to him or the way he'd been forgotten. The love they had was special and enduring.

Their wedding day remained the greatest treasure in his life. A pure, simple thing out on the ranch, with friends and family under a great sky on a clear day. Her dressed in her wedding whites and him in the best suit he and Talon could find. It hadn't been extravagant, but it had been good, and there had been so much food. So much happiness. Time might have lost the life he'd felt truest in, but this one? With Malon and Talon and the Lon Lon Ranch? It felt right. It was everything he’d ever hoped and dreamed for, and he could almost thank Princess Zelda for sending him back like she had.

He hadn't known then that his life was cursed, but he found out soon after.

He'd been out on a milk delivery to the city. Time remembered because the sky had started off beautiful and dewy with morning light and he'd kissed Malon goodbye after gently teasing her for her bedhead and sleepy appearance. It was a good look on her, a vulnerable one he'd always loved and appreciated. There had been two crates of milk. He'd left with his bows and arrows and a simple sword he honestly hadn't expected he’d need. It was chilly with autumn on the way, and he could still feel that shiver down his spine sometimes when his thoughts turned darkest.

The delivery had gone smoothly but he'd wanted to get home as soon as possible because there were foreboding clouds on the horizon and he wanted to help Talon bring the horses in. He'd moved quickly, as quickly as he could, but he'd been held up at the gate by a chance meeting with Princess Zelda.

It was this encounter he believed he never forgave her for.

Granted, it was only for a short time, no more than half an hour. And perhaps his help in saving her kingdom had faded from her mind somewhat in the years of peace that had followed, peace they'd earned from his efforts, that she simply would not listen to him and let him go when he knew deep down he needed to. She insisted that he stay for a while longer, that she wanted to speak to him, and that it was important. He'd asked if it could wait and that he could come back later in the week. She said this could not.

It had been nothing in the end, not that he recalled much of what it was about anymore. All he remembered was that he'd been distracted because the clouds had grown darker and darker, and he’d had a bad feeling. He hadn't been paying attention to her at all, but no one disrespected the princess of Hyrule, and he was just a ranch hand now. Nobody.

Whatever came from that useless conversation became lost to him later, and he couldn't give a damn about it because that half-hour had been the difference. He'd urged Epona hard and rain began to fall. The path was muddy and the wagon threatened to get stuck, but he didn't care. He had a bad feeling, a _very_ bad feeling. Time just wanted to get back. Return to his wife and his family and his home.

He returned to his wife and his family and his home, but it was in ruins when he did. Later he found out that Ingo had been the culprit, but at that time he'd only been able to stand at the mouth of the ranch, stare at the broken crates and bottles, the loose animals, the dark windows of his home.

It was the silence that was the worst of it. Lon Lon Ranch was _never_ silent.

Needless to say, he found Talon and Malon, their corpses still cooling when he did. Talon had been shot with arrows and Malon had been in a pile of torn clothing, partially naked and stabbed through, face frozen in agony and fear.

Time couldn't remember much after that. It was like when he'd been a child, broken by those men in the woods. But these flashes were more welcome in the end because while he'd been in agony unlike anything he'd ever experienced, he also remembered Ingo’s face. Remembered the flash of his sword. Remembered blood on his hands and vengeance satisfied.

He went home then to bury his family after that, and he didn't leave the ranch for days, broken and numb and alone. He thought of everything he'd lost. He thought of his time with Malon and how it was everything he'd ever wanted, a place to belong and someone to love and to love him. How he couldn't go back to the Kokiri Forest. How he had no ties anywhere else with anyone else. How if he hadn't been pulled away by Zelda he might have stopped all of this from happening because _he was the Hero of Time_.

And then he remembered there _was_ something he could do.

There was no hesitation when he crept into the castle following a path he half-remembered from when he’d been a child all those years ago. But he was better now, stronger, faster, extremely experienced even after a lifetime as a ranch hand. In no time he snuck into the castle, bypassed all the guards, waited patiently at the deepest part of night, and while Princess Zelda was sleeping he took the Ocarina of Time.

If he couldn't save his family now, he would do it in the past.

So he played the Song of Time and let Zelda see his glower of hate right before the river of time took him. He focused on where he wanted to go, the morning Malon and Talon had been killed. He could stop it then, and none of this would happen. None of it at all.

When the world stopped spinning and the disorientation left him, he found it was not the morning of the murders. For a moment it didn't even make sense and he'd stared at his small, childish hands, his shortened stature, the horrid green outfit and realized with sickening dread that he was a _child_ again.

Immediately he tried to go forward in time and found it was still the day he'd left as an adult, his family dead, and that no matter how many times he played the Song of Time he ended up past the death of his family or too far back as a child. Never where he wanted to be. Never in between.

It dawned on him then that even as a child _they were still alive_ , and then he ran out of the Temple of Time where he'd found himself, and without hesitating went to Lon Lon Ranch. Everything was whole again. The lights were on. Talon and Malon were younger but they were alive.

He'd seen Malon and immediately embraced her because this was _her,_ even if she was now so young. This was her, it was her, the girl who would become the woman he loved.

She'd shoved him back and ran inside, and Talon came out and scolded him. Told him to leave because he wasn't welcome here now that Time had scared his daughter.

Time tried to explain that he hadn't meant to scare her, that the situation was strange, that was true, but he ... he _belonged_ here. With them. They would _see_.

Time spent the next five years trying to convince them of this, and all he saw was dark wariness grow in their eyes instead of gentle warmth and acceptance. He tried so hard, worked _so hard_ to prove to them that he ... he was _supposed_ to be with them, _had been with them_.

It didn't matter because, to his shock one day, Ganondorf appeared and took over Hyrule, and it was then that he realized he'd forgotten to do one extremely important thing.

The battle this time hadn't gone as well as it had the first, for whatever reason. His heart, in a lot of ways, wasn't in it because it was becoming clear how unlikely it was that he was going to rewin Malon's love.

And it was beyond irritating that the one who wished to give him her heart was Princess Zelda.

Admittedly they still made a great team, much as he didn't care to fight with her. The fight, however, gave him much to think about, _time_ to think about, and as the fight went on and the years slipped slowly past, a plan starting to settle within him. He'd lived a life twice already, and this was his third time around. Both times he'd thought he'd had the right life, and he was forced to see that perhaps they were not right at all. He'd been a hero and that was stripped from him. He'd had the love of an incredible, beautiful woman and a family, a home, and that had been stripped from him too. Even now he was the general of the Hylian forces, though that meant exceedingly little to him, not when he brooded philosophical between battles – after all, what did it matter if everyone died in the end? Not when he had the Ocarina of Time.

On the many nights he lay in bed, considering time in all its complexity, he thought about everything that had happened. What _was_ it that destroyed everything he'd ever craved? What was it that prevented him from having the right life? A peaceful life?

The answer he inevitably came to every time, was chaos. Cruelty. Peoples free to do what they desired as they pleased without fail. What Hyrule needed was order. Peace. A steady hand – one that was not Zelda's, as it seemed to him she was as much a problem as Ganondorf was.

It was then that he began to fight more fitfully, but it wasn't because he particularly _cared_ about the fight. He wanted that order and peace, and he was going to see what it took to make it happen.

Where it had taken several years of fighting to defeat Ganondorf and his forces, with his mind to it, the war was over in a month. He was once again hailed a hero. He ignored his own heart and buried his hate and accepted Princess Zelda's offer of marriage. Soon enough he was deep in court politics, learning what he needed to learn, educating himself on how to lead and control a land from its pinnacle of power. Understood what was required of an individual to seize power and rule. To ensure his rulership was uncontested and that the world _would_ fall into its proper place, in peace and harmony.

That third time he made many mistakes, so many that by the end, the people were screaming for his head, and Princess Zelda had been oh so satisfyingly slain by his blade. But he was certain he'd learned enough. Certain he could succeed.

Confident, Time turned back time _again._

He'd get it right this time. He was certain of himself. One more time and the perfect life – a peaceful life – would be in his grasp.

* * *

And then he did it four more times.

* * *

With the wisdom of eight attempts, Time stood over a calm and peaceful Hyrule. His enemies had all been destroyed early on. The Demon Thief had been undermined before he'd even had a thought of conquering Hyrule and lived in the wastes of the Gerudo desert, all but powerless and surviving on what little scraps existed in the sands with a handful of people he could do little with. The Goron were tamed. The Zora were subservient. The blasted Deku Scrubs were out of sight and submissive. He was a hero here. A leader. The king thought of him as the son he'd never had. Everyone loved him.

This time, he'd done it _right_.

Well, almost right. For whatever reason, Princess Zelda had been distant this time around, reluctant in a way he didn't understand.

He hadn't done anything to her. As a matter of fact, he'd done the same he'd always done. He'd been polite and attentive, a proper knight and an available friend. In most of the lives he'd lived so far, that was enough to snare her affections and pave the way toward his rise at her side as royal consort, and then eventually to king. Usually she was amenable and adored him. It was one of the things he rather enjoyed every time he reset. Princess Zelda’s complete obedience was a secret pleasure.

But this time no matter what he did, throughout the years she'd always pulled away. Found ways to avoid his attentions. Sought friendship with others he'd never known existed. Clung to Impa's apron strings more stringently than ever, training with her in a way Time _knew_ was different.

If not by her own desire, the king at least sought their match and did everything he could to arrange it. He was willing to elevate Time’s status with a title, make him a count or a duke to ease the way, though at this point no one would have much minded the Hero of Hyrule seeking the hand of the princess, even from his lower position.

Yet the night he'd expected a proposal of some sort, they'd had a walk to the Temple of Time. He'd eyed it benevolently because it was his treasure, that and the Ocarina of Time. These were the gifts of time, gifts given to him by the graces of destiny. They were always ready for him if he needed to start over. He could trust it.

As they'd entered the main chamber of the temple, Zelda had paused at the pedestal. She'd been beautiful then, she was always beautiful, but a shiver had slipped along his spine because there was something about the way she was looking at him. As if she were afraid of him. As if he were some sort of monster.

He knew something was truly wrong when she asked, "How many times have we done this, Link?"

Time denied it. Of course he denied it. What could she possibly be talking about? What did she mean? Did she need to lay down and rest, the day had been quite long, after all. Oh, how she often misremembered things.

"Do not patronize me," she'd said, eyes hard even if her voice was soft. "I have memories when I sleep. Things that never happened. Horrible things. And they all involve you."

"Dreams are nothing," he'd replied, scoffing at the idea. "Dreams are just figments, Princess. They _mean_ nothing. It sounds like you've had nightmares."

This time her voice was stronger, harder, and her spine stood like iron as she’d stared him down. "I am not the only one."

That had been a surprise to hear. "What do you mean?"

"Ganondorf? The one you call the Demon Thief? He and I have been in correspondence for some time. He, like I, recalls memories in his dreams that have not happened and do not exist."

"You're talking to a man who would not hesitate to take over Hyrule," Time had replied frankly. "He would kill your father. Given half a chance, he would kill you."

"That's what I thought at first," she’d replied. "After all, you wove such terrifying stories. My father would not listen to me, and Ganondorf and I had to be careful of our correspondence. And so, I came here, to this holy place. I knelt at the pedestal and I prayed."

Time had not liked where this was going, but it hardly mattered. What was there to pray for? What could prayer help her know?

"The goddess Nayru, I felt her then, like a stirring within me," she’d continued, eyes hard and focused. "And a flood of memories, all out of order, all familiar and not, all so confusing and horrifying and blasphemous tore through me and I knew then that nothing is as it seems."

Time had given her a small laugh and played dumb. "This is ... quite a tale, Princess. But I still don't understand. Memories from other times? What does any of this have to do with me? I'm just a boy raised by the Great Deku Tree in the Kokiri Forest. That's all I've ever been."

"Do not lie."

The low, booming voice had come out of nowhere, completely unexpected, and instinct more than anything had Time’s sword in his hand, lifted and raised, killing intent fresh in his heart.

"Who's there?" he’d demanded, but he already knew who it was before the newcomer stepped out to stand beside the princess.

"As if you don't know," Ganondorf had said, eyes filled with fire and vengeance as he’d crossed his arms though magic had gathered like lights at his fingertips. "Though if memory serves, this has never happened either. So perhaps it's fair that you don't know."

"Memory?" Time had shot back, ice building in his gut. "What are you talking about?"

"I was confused by what the goddess had shown me, lost in a sea of memories and time that were mine and also not mine. I told Ganondorf about what had happened, and not long after he bravely ventured here to understand as well. And when I brought him here—"

"I also was granted memories which should not exist, and they match the princess's." Ganondorf had tilted his head, eyes narrowing. "What are the chances of that? But then we started working through the memories to piece together what we knew. Why we were experiencing these massive fits of deja vu."

"You've been using me," Zelda had accused angrily. "Using the Ocarina of Time to start time over and over. Every time you save the land. You defeat evil—"

"Kill me in crueler ways even I couldn't imagine," Ganondorf had added.

"—and unite the kingdom. I've believed you on multiple occasions. Hyrule was at peace."

Time had seen no point in carrying on the charade. He hadn’t dropped his sword, but there was a part of him that relaxed. For more than a hundred years he'd traveled through time completely alone as he wrote over his work, letting everyone and everything forget and change as he remained alone, above it all. An entity outside of time with the help of the Ocarina of Time. No one remembered, after all. No one ever recalled anything, so he could do as he pleased. He was a god of time here, patient, careful, ever-considering, ever-constructing. He could do and try anything, and there were no consequences because he could just fix them at his leisure. Time was completely safe. If utterly alone.

But there were two who knew now, knew who he was, what he was doing, and it had caused a flash of vulnerability to jolt through him, but it was also such a _relief_. And of course, it had been these two, always these two. The other parts to their triad.

Despite the relief, however, he’d already known that this timeline needed to end and be rewritten again because he _did not like_ the way they stood together as a unified front against him. How close they stood, shoulders brushing, and the way Ganondorf almost seemed ... protective of the princess. _Close_.

He’d been certain of himself. This was wrong, all wrong, and he'd have to go back and fix it again. But unlike the other times he'd traveled back in time, this one wasn't one he was going to do with hope in his heart. Something bitter rested there instead because after eight tries he'd managed to get Hyrule exactly as he'd desired it. Hyrule at last was exactly how he envisioned it. Perfect. Peaceful. Beautiful.

But because these two were standing against him he’d sensed it like he could sense the pull of time. Things were about to change. Everything was about to change, and it wouldn't be as he desired it. But like all the other times there had been something off. Something that never fell into line no matter what he did or how many strings he'd pulled. He'd deluded himself, hoping with his whole heart that _this had been the time_.

Perhaps he'd grown complacent because Zelda _never_ deviated from her role, but this time the change had been her. Her and Ganondorf. And they were a _team_ against him, which was ludicrous all on its own. Inconceivable. Impossible.

Time had surprised himself by saying, "You've ruined everything."

Her eyes had hardened. "How could I ruin _anything_ when you've been the one in control of the narrative for so long? You're the one that's forced this land to endure suffering again and again. At least twice it was _you_ who waged that war."

"Learning experiences," he’d said with a shrug. "Growing pains. I learned each time so I could create a better Hyrule. A purer, safer one, and have I not done that?" Time had glanced around beyond the walls of the temple. "Have I not made that world?"

"You've made a peaceful world," she agreed. "But it is not a free world. You've subjugated our sister races. You've destroyed the Gerudo people. The Hyrulian people are in love with you but they do not see the truth for what it is. That you stand before them false and untrue. That you would kill them or erase the lives they have struggled so hard to build in a blink of an eye as if they and their lives mean absolutely nothing. They are real people. We are all _real_. But none of us are to you. We are all playthings you want to use to do with as you desire. You act as if you're a god."

"And neither of you have done the same?" he asked, arching a brow as heat burned in his chest. "A man who would be a tyrant, killing everyone that got in his path, and a girl who would use her power to manipulate the life of a boy and those around her because she has been granted ‘wisdom’?"

The words swelled out of him so fast and so easily it was a relief. He'd thought, after replaying time so often, being better and defeating all of his monsters that he'd moved on from that wretched first attempt at a life. But it seemed that there were still some bitter shards lodged within his heart, and he’d been able to finally release them upon their intended targets as he'd always secretly desired to.

"You would both become the gods you think I've become, but it is because of your feuding that I was summoned. I've learned what it takes to be a great ruler, and I've learned what Hyrule and its subjects need."

"You _murdered_ the Gerudo clan!" Ganondorf had snarled, power crackling in his hands. "We'll be lucky to survive the generation!"

"And for good reason," Time had replied without mercy. "Warmongering. Violent. Cruel. What does our world need with such characteristics? These do not instill peace." He turned his eyes on Zelda. "And weakness does not either. Diplomacy only goes so far and at some point you _must_ act, not send someone else to do your dirty work for you so you can remain pristine and pure."

"So you would enslave everyone?" she’d retorted. "Make them fear your blade rather than live in happiness and freedom?"

"If it means peace?" Time had said, thinking of a little boy who'd been alone, unprotected, curious and hungry, and what had happened to him. Or a beloved wife who’d been vulnerable when her husband had been forced to wait on the nonsense of a royal. "If it means there is no fighting or suffering? Then yes. I would. Everyone survives by my rules. They won’t be pawns of your inevitable war."

"You doing this is an act of war," Ganondorf had said with ice in his voice. "You think you're perfect and beloved. That you've conquered time and this world and its people, but you haven't. There are others who sense you are two-faced and less than you appear. There are others who know that this is not right and that there is a new darkness upon this land. And it is _you_."

"I've saved it," Time had said simply. "I've saved it eight times, every time it was demanded of me. Every time I _knew_ it could be better. And it is, compared to the alternative. To what it _was_. You're the ones who bring strife to the land and I _always_ fix it. I'm the hero, I'm _always_ the hero, but now I'm going to make a world that won't _need_ a hero. Because it will be peaceful and perfect as it is."

"Nothing is perfect," Zelda had said. "And expecting perfection will only drive you insane."

"I'd say it's worked out well for me thus far," Time had replied casually before he dipped his hand into his tunic and pulled out the Ocarina of Time. "For the most part anyway. But I'll get it right next time."

Time had moved quickly, expecting them to react with understanding, expecting them to stop him before the mouthpiece of the instrument was at his lips. He’d taken a breath and felt the Song of Time within his soul. It had been years since he'd played it, but it hadn’t mattered because his fingers fit right where they were supposed to. The magic was within him, at his command.

But when he’d blown upon the mouthpiece, no sound had come out.

Bewilderment had flashed through him and he tried again, tried to make any note, but only silence came out of the ocarina. It hadn’t made sense. He could feel the magic within the object just as he’d felt the song-spell within him. But there’d been something else there too, something that hadn't been there before with all the other times he'd done this. Whatever it was was preventing him from casting the spell.

An unknown well of fury consumed his heart. He’d glared at the princess and the Demon Thief of the desert.

"What have you done?"

"I've sealed it," Zelda had said, lifting her chin and standing tall. "You cannot play the Ocarina of Time. Only someone who already has and who knows the spells – someone other than you – can break the spell."

"And you've had the ocarina for lifetimes," Ganondorf had said with a sly smirk. "Rewriting the world again and again. There is no one who has played the Ocarina of Time. Not I, and not Princess Zelda either."

"There is no one in this world who can break that spell," Zelda had said. "You cannot change time again. It is impossible. We won’t let you."

Time had stared at them, his mood darkening. It was a ... complication. He’d lowered the ocarina. "You won't let me? You're a princess falling out of grace with her people and a man everyone wants dead. You're all but powerless. What could you possibly do to stop me?"

Ganondorf, to Time's surprise, had only chuckled. "You haven't even noticed, have you?"

"Noticed what?" Time had demanded, the impatience snapping out of him because what now? _What now?_

Ganondorf's smirk was self-satisfied as he’d lifted the back of his hand, and beside him Princess Zelda had done the same. The blood all but drained out of Time's face because on their hands were tiny glowing triangles just like his.

"Impossible," he’d said. "The Sacred Realm is sealed. I made sure of it!"

"My prayer opened it," she’d replied calmly. "There is an imbalance in this world and the Goddesses themselves have seen it fit to grant entrance for myself and Ganondorf so we might fight you on level footing."

"And trust me when I say I've been waiting for this day," Ganondorf had said as the power in his hands gathered. "I will avenge my people and free this land of you and your hold, even if it's the last thing I do."

"And I will do the same," Zelda had said as cool blue light gathered around them protectively as she’d lifted her hand. "You've lost your way, Link. Time was not your plaything, and we won't let you do it again."

The Triforce on his hand had glowed, bright with his anger and his intent. He’d lifted his sword, eyes narrowed.

"We shall see about that."

The battle that followed had been fearsome indeed.

* * *

Time had stared at the remains of the Temple of Time and felt little. Frankly, he’d felt little about everything, but yet again it hardly mattered. It was a momentous day for him, though he'd experienced it twice already in past times. Still. Given the state of his world, his coronation that day was more important than any other he'd experienced thus far. Time _needed_ solid control over Hyrule. This would ensure that.

But before he’d gone inside to claim his crown, he’d stared at the ruins and let himself touch the flicker of hatred in his heart for what had happened. Zelda and Ganondorf had opposed him. They'd attempted to disrupt him and kill him, teaming up against him in ways that should never have happened.

Yet experience had been the deciding factor, and while they'd had the advantage he'd fought them each before and won, and nothing they did was new or unexpected. He'd fought them and he'd been on the cusp of defeating them.

With Zelda's abilities and Ganondorf's power, they'd managed to teleport away. They'd _run_.

Which meant his quest wasn't over as he'd hoped it would be. He'd have to find them somehow. He'd have to once again defeat them, and he'd have to do it without the reassurance of the Ocarina of Time.

It hadn't been a complete disaster in the end, however. All of Hyrule had seen their meek princess fight with the Demon Thief, saw them attempt to kill him. Saw them destroy the Temple of Time, and so much else. Granted, once he realized how this might play out, he'd staged things to appear as damning to the princess as possible, which had worked out in his favor. No one had understood and everyone was angry. Even her father had not been able to divine the truth and had reacted as Time had expected. He'd banished Zelda.

Which made it easy to predict that she'd be back to talk to her father, to get him to see her perspective, and Time had been ready, murdering the king and letting the guards catch her in his place before she’d run again. The misunderstanding had gone as he'd expected as well, and it was all a matter of pulling the right strings from there.

He was the hero that had saved Hyrule, beloved by everyone, a favorite of the king and lord of the land, a king who had no heirs except Zelda. They'd asked him to assume the throne within days to fill the vacuum, and of course, what could he do but accept in their time of need? Everything had gone according to plan.

But it hadn't had to be like this.

Time had clenched his hands by his side and felt the small weight of the ocarina at his hip where it had been since the battle. Useless as it was now, he hadn’t wanted to leave it anywhere anyone might find it. Where they might tamper with it, and it was a reminder, a constant reminder, to fix. There had to be a way to break the spell. There had to be.

And he would find it. And when he did, he would reset time and try again. He _would_ create a world of peace.

Only next time he'd ensure there was no Zelda or Ganondorf to stand in his way, and his perfect world would be real at last.

* * *

The rumors that swelled around the land of Hyrule had been unstoppable when the divine light of the Triforce sunk back into the Sacred Realm. They all knew what it meant, for it could only _mean_ one thing.

Their king, Link, had fallen.

No one knew what had happened, but again there were whispers. So many stories, too many, enough that if the truth had been among them, it had been untouchable, unknown, and lost. There were commonalities that eventually surfaced amongst some of the more stalwart scholars who researched the event. That a green light had taken the king one morning. That not long after, he’d returned but elderly and feeble, raving as the Triforce of Courage vanished into the broken ruins of what had once been the Temple of Time. The changed king, that final night, had told his most trusted advisors a tale, one impossible and vicious and cold.

Everyone agreed it changed everything.

According to King Link the Courageous, the legend was wrong. It had changed. The Demon. The Witch. The One-Eyed Murderer. _These_ were the ones all of Hyrule should beware in the future, not revere and remember. These were the monsters who would one day plunge their good world into darkness. Destroy the tender peace they enjoyed.

But he would be there, King Link had vowed. His reincarnation would return, their great king. And when the triad of evil rose, _he_ would be called forth to save them all once more.

And their world, all worlds would know true peace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just the epilogue left now.
> 
> Final post on Monday :]


	27. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are for the final time, this sweet little epilogue to round it all out. I hope you all enjoy :]

Link stared up at the massive Gerudo boy standing above him, red hair a blaze behind him as the sun made his desert-tan skin shine with sweat and dirt. His face was bleeding from the impromptu fight and his fists were curled and as ready as the snarl on his face.

"What are you doing?" the other boy demanded in a voice so fearsome Link's heart trembled. "Get out of here! I won’t save you again."

"That _boy_ shouldn't be here," the older Gerudo girl said, and the Rito and Goron at her side who’d made a point of terrorizing Link every chance they could since he’d come to town nodded in agreement. "And neither should you."

"The market is for everyone," the Gerudo boy snapped, turning his fierce golden gaze back to the cruel gang of kids. "What does it matter if we're in it or not?"

"Because a Gerudo boy? A one-eyed Hylian boy? We know all the stories," she sneered. "One a demon, the other a murderer! Now all we need is the witch, and the legends will come to pass, won't they?"

Link saw red.

"He's not a demon and I'm not a murderer!" he shouted, shoving to his feet. He was barely as tall as the Gerudo boy's chest, but it didn't matter to Link. He wiped the blood off his lips and glowered. "You're just bullies."

"What do you care?" the Rito said, his head-feathers bobbing as he moved. "He didn’t call the guards when we were beating you. He didn’t do _anything_ while we were beating you, at least not for a while anyway. Why do you care about a worthless piece of trash like him?"

"Because he's my best friend!"

Link didn't care that everyone was staring at him. He didn't care that his 'best friend' had avoided him, attempted to leave him, hadn’t said more than a handful of words to him, and had intentionally led him into a gambling ring that had almost resulted in some serious punishment by the owners. Hell, he didn't even know the Gerudo boy's name.

But when Link had stumbled into the Gerudo Desert, half-dead, abandoned by his adopted family and ready to die, the other boy had found him. Taken him to an oasis and saved his life when others had passed him by like a bad omen after one good look at his face.

It was there that he'd seen the mark on the other boy’s hand. The one that was just like the mark on his own, and he knew then and there without a doubt that he wanted to know this Gerudo. That they were _meant_ to be friends and do great things together. Just like that girl locked away in that castle. They would be friends too.

"Best friend?" the Gerudo girl said with a laugh. "He doesn't have any friends. Who wants to be friends with a demon? Then again, you _are_ supposed to be a murderer."

"I'm _not_ a murderer, and I _am_ his friend!" Link snarled, hands clenched, and for the other boy he felt fearless. "Now, leave him alone!"

"You know," said the Gerudo boy. "They were going to leave me alone today. They only bothered me because of you." There was the faintest hint of amusement in his voice, the first time since Link had started following. In response, Link gave him the biggest smile he had.

"Guess friends fight together."

For the first time ever, the Gerudo boy smirked before his fighting posture matched Link's. Like that he was large and intimidating. Formidable.

"Guess you're right. Now are you going to try to fight us both?" the Gerudo boy's smirk turned positively devilish. "Or should I tell the chief who has been stealing the food for the sand seals?"

The Gerudo girl's eyes narrowed, but the Rito looked worried. The Goron grabbed at the Gerudo's wrist. "Come on Saro'sa. They're not worth it."

"Desert trash," the Gerudo girl said, spitting at their feet before she led the others away. Link's chest still heaved, and he could see the much bigger frame of the boy next to him do the same.

"You're an idiot, you know," the Gerudo told him as he finally relaxed, wiping blood from his chin. "You should have run away when they started the fight."

"They were going to attack you and frame you by planting a stolen dagger in your belt before calling the guards," Link told him.

"And why did you try to stop them? Wouldn't be the first time they tried to get me in trouble. I can take care of myself, Hylian."

"I never said you couldn't," Link said. "But that's what friends do. They look out for each other. Help each other." He brushed off his tattered pants before grinning at the bigger kid. "I'm hungry. You got something to eat?"

The boy only stared. "I could beat you up too, you know? I could hurt you. They're right. I'm the demon everyone's worried about. Boys are never born to the Gerudo, and those that are are cursed, forever!" His golden gaze dropped, face impassive though Link caught the flash of deep hurt before he hid it away. "I'm bad news. Find another friend."

"And I'm the one-eyed Hylian boy. The murderer of legend," Link replied blandly, rolling his good eye. "So no. I'm not going to."

The Gerudo scowled. "What just happened will happen all over again."

"There are two of us now, and I think I know where the witch is," Link replied stubbornly. "It might not."

"You're stupid," the Gerudo said, crossing his arms across his thickly muscled chest. Link only grinned wider.

"No, I’m Link." He stuck out his hand, the one with the mark on his hand. The one that caused people to get nervous and worried. The one that made people think he was trouble. He saw the way the other boy looked at it when the glitter of gold caught the desert sunlight. He heard the faint gasp that slipped out of the Gerudo’s chest. "What's yours?"

It wouldn't be the first time the boy refused to answer him, but this time was different. This time he didn't just brush him off. Instead he lifted his hand, the one with the mark of his own which glittered in gold and brought him as much misfortune as it had brought Link, and then he clasped Link's hand. It was big in his, dwarfing it completely, but it was warm. The skin there was tough from practice with the spear and sword Link sometimes caught him training with alone in the middle of the night. It felt strong. It felt like what a friend's hand would feel like.

"Ganondorf," the boy finally said. "My name's Ganondorf."

Link wasn't sure if Ganondorf felt it too, but for a moment, it almost felt as if he had reached out and found someone he'd known a long time ago, someone important. His hand held the other boy's tighter, and to his surprise, Ganondorf’s did the same.

"So ... we're friends now," Ganondorf said. "Best friends, according to you. What do we do?"

"Uh, I already told you," Link said before pulling Ganondorf back toward the street by their clasped hands. "I'm hungry. You know where we can get some food?"

Link half-expected the Gerudo to let go of his hand, but he didn't. Instead he held it tighter before taking the lead, dragging Link with him. A smile filled Ganondorf's face, a big one that was real and alive and lit everything about him. It was like he'd just gotten everything he'd ever wanted and never dreamed he'd have. Link felt the same.

Their eyes met, and it was filled with something pure and bright that made his heart race.

"I think I know a place," Ganondorf said before his smile turned a little devious at the end. "How are you at climbing?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it! The end :] I hope you all enjoyed Convergence. This story was definitely a labor of love, and while I definitely wrote this story for myself and some of my favorite Links, I hope that you all were able to enjoy it too. 
> 
> To everyone who left kudos and reviewed, thank you so much, they meant a lot to me. For those who want to review in the future, no matter if this story is a year or five years or ten years older from now, I will always be happy to receive them.
> 
> Thanks for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> Catch up with me on [my writing tumblr](https://oka-writes.tumblr.com/) or my [Legend of Zelda tumblr](https://mori-writes.tumblr.com/) to see what else I'm up to :]


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